Forks read the twilight saga
by lealover1
Summary: it is the second week back after summer vacation and all at the school get a message that they should be collected in the gymnastics hall to read four books about someone at school. Who is the books about? And how will everyone react when they find out the Cullens well kept secret?
1. Preface

**AN:**

**Okay, I have to say this before you can read this story. As some may know, I had another story where everyone was in school reading twilight. The truth is that I stole it from Twilight Forever222 and I tried to change things but it was still too similar to hers and I'm not afraid to admit it. I do not think I realized what I was doing before it was too late and I was not thinking at all. And you shall know that I feel really bad for it, so I deleted the story and decided to write a brand new one. Just so you know, this one I have come up with all by myself and I own everything except the characters as SM owns. I just wanted you to know it and I will never ever do anything like that again and I hope you will like this story.**

**I want to thank my beta Kim67255 for helping me so much**

**This story is set in new moon but before the first chapter**

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It was the second day back at school after summer vacation and Bella stood talking with Alice and Edward who were the only Cullen's who were left at school. Rosalie and Emmet were in Africa and Jasper was at home (though everyone thought they were in college.) They were about to go to their first class when the speakers crackled before the principal started talking.

"All students should report to the gym now instantly, no exceptions." The speakers fell silent and everyone started talking to each other. What could be so important that they canceled the rest of the day's classes?

"Alice, did you know about this?" Whispered Bella, after looking around to be sure that no one heard her.

"No, I can't see anything." She said frustrated they went to the gym.

"Attention students." Yelled Principal Greene. "I have called all of you here because I have received four books that are important. You have to stay here all the time except to eat in the lunchroom and go home and sleep. Otherwise will you spend your entire day here…"

He would continue to say something when the doors flew open and everyone turned to see who had appeared so late, the principle was annoyed because he had said that everyone would go to the gym right away. Whispers broke out in the room when they saw who had come.

"Honestly Emmett, could you not open the doors like a normal person?" Said Jasper annoyed.

"But there's no fun in that, now everyone knew that someone was coming."

"Emmett darling, everyone that knows you knew it was you who came. Nobody else who is adult would slam the doors like that." Said Rosalie sweetly.

"You miss an important point, Emmett is not what you would call an adult. He has the brains of a five-year child." Said Bella dryly and all but Cullen's looked at her anxiously.

She just insulted Emmett and everyone was confident that he would be angry with her and possibly attack her, but instead all Cullen's burst out laughing. Except Rosalie who just smiled and Emmet who looked around until he saw her at the front and cried "Bellsy-Boo" and ran quickly (at human speed) up to her, picked her up and hugged her tightly as he spun her around.

All the Cullen's and Bella laughed as Emmett put her down. Jasper and Rosalie walked quickly up to them. Rosalie nodded at Bella before she sat down next to Emmett which surprised Bella. Rosalie would normally give her a murderous stare. Jasper also did something unexpected, he walked over and kissed her on the cheek after having ignored Edwards' warnings. She was his baby sister and the hell with Edward's ridiculous rules.

"Hello Bella" He said warmly and Bella smiled at him, happy that he kissed her cheek. He sat dawn next to Alice who sat next to Bella who sat next to Edward who sat next to Rosalie because he couldn't sit next to Emmett unless they wanted Edward and Emmett to kill each other. All the other students looked at Bella with big eyes. How could she be so comfortable with all the Cullen's? Principle Greene cleared his throat before he began to talk.

"In any case, the books are called Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. We will read them in that order, and all who want to read will be able to do it, let's begin."

**"Preface" ** He read.

**I'd never given much thought to how I would die **

"Why should you?" Asked Emmet.

"I don't know, but the person must have a reason to do that now." Answered Alice.

**though I'd had reason enough in the last few months — but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this. **

"How would you imagine that then?"

"Emmett, you're talking to a book."

**I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, **

"No, please, don't be what I think it is." Begged Bella in her mind.

**and he looked pleasantly back at me. Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something.**

"Whoever this person is, she or he is right. That should count." Mused Jasper.

**I knew that if I'd never gone to Forks,**

Everyone in the hall gasped, it was about someone in Forks.

**I wouldn't be facing death now. But, terrified as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.**

"No, please. This can't be about me."

**The hunter smiled in a friendly way as he sauntered forward to kill me.**

"Poor that person, I wondered who it is." Said Edward and Bella sighted. Sometimes he can be really stupid. If this was about her, which she was pretty sure it was. This happened like three months ago.

"That was a depressing beginning." Said Emmett cheerfully.

"That was the preface, who want to read now?" Asked the principle.


	2. First Sight

AN: I just want to thank everyone for the nice comments.

* * *

"That was the preface, who want to read now?" Asked the principle and looked around in the room after someone how wanted to read.

"Oh, oh, oh. Can I read? I really want to read, please." Begged Alice and Greene gave her the book.

**"First Sight"** She read.

**My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue.**

"Oh come on, this can't be about me. Please, anyone except me." Begged Bella quietly.

**I was wearing my favorite shirt — sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka.**

"A parka, I mean really a parka. Who want to wear a parka?" Asked a horrified Alice and a few laugh. Those who loved shopping and clothes nodded their heads to show that they agreed.

**In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds. **

"You can say that again."

"Under a near-constant over of clouds."

**It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United States of America. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie, **

"Dammit, I hate my life right now." Bella almost shouted.

"Why do you hate your life?" Asked Angela.

"Because, we are reading about my life right now."

"How can you be so sure?" Sneered Lauren, not wanting to believe that the book was about Bella. Then it would mean that she would get a lot of attention.

"Look at it. My mom escaped with me when I was a few months old. I spend two weeks here every summer until I was fourteen, then I refuse to come here and my dad's name is Charlie. This book is about when I come to Forks.

"But that means that someone will try to kill you." Said a shy girl named Eleanor.

"Ehh, well, this is about last year I think. Everything will be explained in the book." Bella said she so everyone could hear her.

She then whispered so only the Cullen's could hear her. "We have problems. Big, big problems."

"What do you mean?" Asked Edward confused.

"God Edward, for someone who is so smart you can really be a dumb ass sometimes." She whispered angry and all Cullen's except Edward burst out laughing.

"OH MY GOD! Bella that must be the funniest thing you have said about Eddie." Laughed Emmet and Jasper while Alice decided to continue reading.

**vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead.  
It was to Forks that I now exiled myself— an action that I took with great horror. I detested Forks.**

"Then why did you come here?" Lauren Mallory asked.

"It's in the book. And I don't detest Forks now. Actually love I to live here."

**I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and the blistering heat. I loved the vigorous, sprawling city.**

"It sounds very pretty." Rosalie said before she could control herself.

"Oh it is, you should go there. All you need to be careful." Answered Bella.

"You are right. I really want to go there." Mused Rosalie.

**"Bella," my mom said to me — the last of a thousand times — before I got on the plane. "You don't have to do this." My mom looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself? **

"I'm confused. Who is the mother?" Asked Jasper with a frown.

"Yeah, Bellsy, who is the mother in that relationship?" Giggled Emmett.

"I guess you could say I'm the mother in a way."

**Of course she had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still…**

"In a way, it does sounds like you are the mother and your mother is your daughter." Said Jena, a girl in Bella's math class.

**"I want to go," I lied. I'd always been a bad liar, **

"A bad liar, that is not even near the truth." Snickered all who know her well.

"I think I can lie when I really need to." Said she with a smirk.

**but I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it sounded almost convincing now.**

"That must be a miracle." Said Edward and she hit him over the head.

**"Tell Charlie I said hi."**

**"I will."**

**"I'll see you soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want — I'll come right back as soon as you need me."**

**But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise.**

"You are so selfless." Bella blushed at that.

**"Don't worry about me," I urged. "It'll be great. I love you, Mom."  
She hugged me tightly for a minute, and then I got on the plane, and she was gone.**

**It's a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive back down to Forks. Flying doesn't bother me; the hour in the car with Charlie, though, I was a little worried about.**

"But I thought you get along well."

"We do, but we have only seen each summer for two weeks so I was concerned that we would just sit and stare out the window and it would be awkward."

**Charlie had really been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence.**

"Well you are his daughter. Of course would he be happy."

**He'd already gotten me registered for high school and was going to help me get a car.**

"A car! That is not a car. It is a big hunk of…"

"Hey, don't hate my truck. It has personality." Alice and a few others chuckled when Bella begin to defend her car against Rosalie.

**But it was sure to be awkward with Charlie. Neither of us was what anyone would call verbose, and I didn't know what there was to say regardless. I knew he was more than a little confused by my decision — like my mother before me, I hadn't made a secret of my distaste for Forks.**

"Why did you come here?" A girl asked.

"Like I said, I think it's going to be in the books in a few chapters."

**When I landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it as an omen — just unavoidable. **

"You'll get used to it." About half the students said.

**I'd already said my goodbyes to the sun.**

Emmet begins to grin when he pictured Bella waving goodbye to the sun. Edward who read his thoughts shakes his head in amusement.

**Charlie was waiting for me with the cruiser. **

**This I was expecting, too. Charlie is Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks. My primary motivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of my funds, was that I refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. **

"Ugh, that would suck. Talk about embarrassing," Ben said. Bella nodded her head in agreement.

**Nothing slows down traffic like a cop.**

"Tell me about it." Emmett said.

**Charlie gave me an awkward, one-armed hug when I stumbled my way off the plane.**

"And you stumble already. How many times did you fall?" Sniggered Emmett.

"It is none of your business."

**"It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied me. **

"Guess he's used to it."

**"You haven't changed much. How's Renée?"**

**"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad." I wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face.**

**I had only a few bags.**

"What!" Alice screeched. "I knew you had no clothes…"

"I do have clothes." But Alice didn't listen to her.

"I am so taking you shopping when these books are over. That is just horrible that you don't have many clothes."

"Alice you know I don't really like shopping, at all."

"I still can't get that. How can you not like shopping? You know what; I will not discuss this with you know. You going whether you like it or not."

Edward and Emmett started laughing at her. She just huffed and crossed her arms.

"Bella, it easier if you just go, believe me. I live with her, and if she wants to shop for someone there is nothing you can do. You must know that by now."

**Most of my Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. **

"Be glad that you have that excuse." Humped Alice.

**My mom and I had pooled our resources to supplement my winter wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser.**

Alice and Rosalie shivered at that and Bella laughed at them.

**"I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced when we were strapped in.**

**"What kind of car?" I was suspicious of the way he said "good car for you" as opposed to just "good car."**

"You are really perspective." Mused Jasper.

**"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy."**

**"Where did you find it?"**

**"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?"**

All of the Cullen's growled and Bella was first confused but decided to let that go.

**La Push is the tiny Indian reservation on the coast.**

**"No."**

**"He used to go fishing with us during the summer," Charlie prompted.  
That would explain why I didn't remember him. I do a good job of blocking painful, unnecessary things from my memory. **

"Good for you." Thought Rosalie.

**"He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when I didn't respond, **

**"so he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap."**

**"What year is it?" I could see from his change of expression that this was the question he was hoping I wouldn't ask.**

**"Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine — it's only a few years old, really."**

"Right, the truck is probably older then every teacher in this school and that is saying something."

"I don't care, I really need a car and it is better then walking or riding in the police car every day."

**I hoped he didn't think so little of me as to believe I would give up that easily. "When did he buy it?"**

**"He bought it in 1984, I think."**

**"Did he buy it new?"**

**"Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties — or late fifties at the earliest," he admitted sheepishly.**

**"Ch — Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic…"**

"But Rose could fix it." Said Emmett.

"Fat chance. I would never touch that old piece of crap." Answered she.

**"Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore."**

"I wonder why?" Mumbled the car lovers.

**The thing, I thought to myself… it had possibilities — as a nickname, at the very least.**

**"How cheap is cheap?" After all, that was the part I couldn't compromise on.**

**"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift." Charlie peeked sideways at me with a hopeful expression.**

"That's sweet of him!" Alice smiled.

**Wow. Free.**

**"You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."**

**"I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He was looking ahead at the road when he said this. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. I inherited that from him. So I was looking straight ahead as I responded.**

"You are really weird. You know that."' Mike said

"Mike, trust me, you have only heard the beginning."

**"That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it." No need to add that my being happy in Forks is an impossibility. He didn't need to suffer along with me. **

"And that is the selfless Bella, we all know and love." Bella blushed at that and that made one person (Emmett) laugh so she blushed even more.

**And I never looked a free truck in the mouth — or engine.**

**"Well, now, you're welcome," he mumbled, embarrassed by my thanks.**

**We exchanged a few more comments on the weather, which was wet, and that was pretty much it for Conversation. We stared out the windows in silence.**

"Before anyone asks, no it wasn't awkward."

**It was beautiful, of course; I couldn't deny that. Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves.**

**It was too green — an alien planet.**

"You do realize that green is the most common color on the planet right?" Emmett asked Bella like she was stupid.

"Of course. It's just that were I'm from most of everything is brown I'm not used to it." A lot of people nodded.

**Eventually we made it to Charlie's. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that he'd bought with my mother in the early days of their marriage. Those were the only kind of days their marriage had — the early ones. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was my new — well, new to me — truck. It was a faded red color, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. To my intense surprise, I loved it. **

Rosalie and Edward looked disgusted at the idea of loving that monster.

**I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged — the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed.**

"When you put that in that why…" Mused Edward.

"Of course, you hate my truck, until you notice that it keeps some danger away."

**"Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!" Now my horrific day tomorrow would be just that much less dreadful. I wouldn't be faced with the choice of either walking two miles in the rain to school or accepting a ride in the Chief's cruiser.**

"I would go, would be faster than driving that hunk of metal of yours." Taunted Rosalie, she really hates that truck.

**"I'm glad you like it," Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed again.**

**It took only one trip to get all my stuff upstairs. **

"It took what? But you aren't even strong." Shouted Alice to the students amusing.

**I got the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard. The room was familiar; it had been belonged to me since I was born.**

"And nothing has changed." Thought Bella a little sad. It would have been nice if Charlie had done something new to the room over the years.

**The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains around the window — these were all a part of my childhood. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as I grew. The desk now held a secondhand computer, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. This was a stipulation from my mother, so that we could stay in touch easily. The rocking chair from my baby days was still in the corner.**

"Wow, we must give your room a new make over, what color do you want on your walls?" Asked Alice.

"I don't know, maybe blue instead of light blue, it kind of looks like my walls are grey now. But I must wait until I have enough money to buy paint."

"Don't worry about money, I'll pay."

"No, Alice. I can't let you pay for me. You know I hate when people do that."

"And I don't care, you are practically my sister and because of that my money your money." Explained Alice and Bella's eyes filled with tears of joy.

**There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, which I would have to share with Charlie. I was trying not to dwell too much on that fact.**

Almost every girl in the room grimaced at that.

**One of the best things about Charlie is he doesn't hover. **

**He left me alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for my mother. It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let just a few tears escape. **

Edward hugged Bella tight, sad that she had been unhappy.

**I wasn't in the mood to go on a real crying jag. I would save that for bedtime, when I would have to think about the coming morning.**

**Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven — now fifty-eight — students;**

"I knew that you had sense of humor." Shirked Emmett happy.

**there were more than seven hundred people in my junior class alone **

**back home. All of the kids here had grown up together — their grandparents had been toddlers together.**

"It's not a good thing. Every time you do something the rest of your family is going to know in a few hours."

**I would be the new girl from the big city, a curiosity, a freak.**

"You got that right, but don't worry, we are freaks to." Comforted Emmett.

"Emmett, you are the only freak here." Joked Alice.

**Maybe, if I looked like a girl from Phoenix should, I could work this to my advantage.**

**But physically, I'd never fit in anywhere. I should be tan, sporty, blond — a volleyball player, or a cheerleader, perhaps — all the things that go with living in the valley of the sun.**

"Don't worry love, you are beautiful just the way you are." Edward kissed her forehead after he said that.

**Instead, I was ivory-skinned, without even the excuse of blue eyes or red hair, despite the constant sunshine. I had always been slender, but soft somehow, obviously not an athlete; I didn't have the necessary hand-eye coordination to play sports without humiliating myself — and harming both myself and anyone else who stood too close.**

"Ahh, but it's just fun. It means that I get to tease you." Smirked Emmett happily.

**When I finished putting my clothes in the old pine dresser, I took my bag of bathroom necessities and went to the communal bathroom to clean myself up after the day of travel.**

**I looked at my face in the mirror as I brushed through my tangled, damp hair. Maybe it was the light, but already I looked sallower, unhealthy. My skin could be pretty — it was very clear, almost translucent-looking —but it all depended on color. I had no color here.**

"And? Almost no one is and we are paler than you. "" Alice shrugged and pointed at herself and her family.

**Facing my pallid reflection in the mirror, I was forced to admit that I was lying to myself. It wasn't just physically that I'd never fit in. And if I couldn't find a niche in a school with three thousand people, what were my chances here?**

"Pretty good. And don't worry Bellsy you're stuck with us!" Emmett said

Bella laughed. "I don't mind that at all."

**I didn't relate well to people my age. Maybe the truth was that I didn't relate well to people, period. Even my mother, who I was closer to than anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with me, never on the exact same page.**

"Didn't you have any friends in Phoenix?" Asked many.

"No, not really. I mean sometimes I was with a few people but we weren't close. I mostly hang out with my mom."

"That is just sad." Sad Jessica.

"Why? I liked to spend time with her."

**Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in my brain.**

Edward snickered at that, it can be true.

**But the cause didn't matter. All that mattered was the effect. And tomorrow would be just the beginning.**

**I didn't sleep well that night, even after I was done crying. The constant whooshing of the rain and wind across the roof wouldn't fade into the background. I pulled the faded old quilt over my head, and later added the pillow, too. But I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight, when the rain finally settled into a quieter drizzle.**

**Thick fog was all I could see out my window in the morning, and I could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on me. You could never see the sky here; it was like a cage.**

"Huh, I have never think of it like that. But I guess you're right." Mused Angela.

**Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at school. I thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to avoid me. Charlie left first, off to the police station that was his wife and family. After he left, I sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor. Nothing was changed.**

**My mother had painted the cabinets eighteen years ago in an attempt to bring some sunshine into the house. Over the small fireplace in the adjoining handkerchief-sized family room was a row of pictures. First a wedding picture of Charlie and my mom in Las Vegas, then one of the three of us in the hospital after I was born, taken by a helpful nurse, followed by the procession of my school pictures up to last year's. Those were embarrassing to look at — I would have to see what I could do to get Charlie to put them somewhere else, at least while I was living here.**

**It was impossible, being in this house, not to realize that Charlie had never gotten over my mom. It made me uncomfortable.**

"It would make anyone uncomfortable."

**I didn't want to be too early to school, but I couldn't stay in the house anymore. I donned my jacket — which had the feel of a biohazard suit.**

"Alice don't you dare say anything!" Bella warned. Alice just huffed and started muttering about shopping while the other Cullen's laughed at her.

— **and headed out into the rain.**

**It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak me through immediately as I reached for the house key that was always hidden under the eave by the door, and locked up. The sloshing of my new waterproof boots was unnerving. I missed the normal crunch of gravel as I walked. I couldn't pause and admire my truck again as I wanted; **

"I really don't get you. Why would you want to admire that thing." Asked Rosalie.

**I was in a hurry to get out of the misty wet that swirled around my head and clung to my hair under my hood. Inside the truck, it was nice and dry. Either Billy or Charlie had obviously cleaned it up, but the tan upholstered seats still smelled faintly of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint.**

**The engine started quickly, to my relief, but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume. Well, a truck this old was bound to have a flaw. The antique radio worked, a plus that I hadn't expected.**

"Wow, who would've thought that it would work." Emmett laughed.

"To be honest, I was surprised that the radio work." Bella admitted.

**Finding the school wasn't difficult, though I'd never been there before. The school was, like most other things, just off the highway. It was not obvious that it was a school; only the sign, which declared it to be the Forks High School, made me stop. It looked like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-colored bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs I couldn't see its size at first. Where was the feel of the institution? I wondered nostalgically. Where were the chain-link fences, the metal detectors?**

"They seriously had that at your old school?" Alice asked

"We had them because the school isn't safe whiteout them. It had happened many times that someone brought a knife to school and threatened people."

"So they get metal detectors because of that?"

"No, it was about two years ago, a guy brought a knife and started to attack people. Look." She pulled down her shirt and showed a scar that she got that day on her left shoulder."

A few looked worried and Angela and all Cullen's looked horrified and Bella laughed at their expression, she didn't care about the scar longer, she has a lot other scars. Rosalie may not like Bella that much, but she hated when people hurt other so much that it left scars.

**I parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading front office. No one else was parked there, so I was sure it was off limits, but I decided I would get directions inside instead of circling around in the rain like an idiot. I stepped unwillingly out of the toasty truck cab and walked down a little stone path lined with dark hedges. I took a deep breath before opening the door.**

**Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than I'd hoped. The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside. **

Many chuckled, it is very funny to hear Bella's thoughts.

**The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored flyers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, which immediately made me feel overdressed.**

**The red-haired woman looked up. "Can I help you?"**

**"I'm Isabella Swan," I informed her, and saw the immediate awareness light her eyes. I was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt. Daughter of the Chief's flighty ex-wife, come home at last.**

"That is what almost every person thought." Grinned Emmet.

"Is that supposed to make me feel comfortable?"

**"Of course," she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter to show roe.**

**She went through my classes for me, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave me a slip to have each teacher sign, which I was to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at me and hoped, like Charlie, that I would like it here in Forks. I smiled back as convincingly as I could.**

"Not much at all." Chorused a few of her friends.

**When I went back out to my truck, other students were starting to arrive. I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. I was glad to see that most of the cars were older like mine, nothing flashy. At home I'd lived in one of the few lower-income neighborhoods that were included in the Paradise Valley District. It was a common thing to see a new Mercedes or Porsche in the student lot. **

"A Porsche does sound like a nice car." Alice murmured dreamily.

**The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out. **

"Aww, Eddie look. She noticed your car." Laughed Emmet.

"Don't call me Eddie." Growled Edward at him.

**Still, I cut the engine as soon as I was in a spot, so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw attention to me.**

"You were the new girl. You would get the attention no matter what."

**I looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it now; hopefully I wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of my nose all day. I stuffed everything in my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and sucked in a huge breath. I can do this, I lied to myself feebly. **

"Did it work?" Emmet asked.

"No, like you know, I'm suck at lying. I can't even lie to myself." She shook her head.

**No one was going to bite me. **

All the Cullen's and Bella burst out laughing at that. All the student's looked at them funny.

"Sorry, it is an inside joke their family has." Explained Bella.

**I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck.**

**I kept my face pulled back into my hood as I walked to the sidewalk, crowded with teenagers. My plain black jacket didn't stand out, I noticed with relief.**

**Once I got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black "3" was painted on a white square on the east corner. **

"Yeah, the school is easy to navigate around even Emmett can find his way around." Jasper spoke for the first time in a while.

"But that doesn't count. He has photographic memory." Edward smile and Jasper give him a high five while everyone else laugh at that.

**I felt my breathing gradually creeping toward hyperventilation as I approached the door. I tried holding my breath as I followed two unisex raincoats through the door.**

**The classroom was small. The people in front of me stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. I copied them. They were two girls, one a porcelain-colored blonde, the other also pale, with light brown hair. At least my skin wouldn't be a standout here. Took the slip up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at me when he saw my name — not an encouraging response — and of course I flushed tomato red. But at least he sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing me to the class. **

"And you didn't trip!" Emmett fake that he fainted at that.

**It was harder for my new classmates to stare at me in the back, but somehow, they managed. **

**I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Faulkner. I'd already read everything. That was comforting… and boring. **

"Of course they are." Complained everyone.

**I wondered if my mom would send me my folder of old essays, or if she would think that was cheating. **

"If that's true then I cheat all the time." Emmett said

"Really, you don't want mom to here that."

"She isn't here."

"Maybe not, but if you're not careful I may just slip that tiny bit of information." Alice smirked when she saw his worried face.

**I went through different arguments with her in my head while the teacher droned on.**

**When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to me.**

**"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like the overly helpful, chess club type.**

"Eric I guess." Said Alice.

**"Bella," I corrected. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me.**

**"Where's your next class?" he asked.**

**I had to check in my bag." Um, Government, with Jefferson, in ****building six."**

**There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes.**

**"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way…" Definitely over-helpful. **

Eric crossed his arms.

**"I'm Eric," he added.**

**I smiled tentatively. "Thanks."**

**We got our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I could have sworn several people behind us were walking close enough to eavesdrop. I hoped I wasn't getting paranoid.**

"No, people were staring at you." Alice said.

"Well, that makes me feel better." Bella said sarcastically and Edward kissed her on the cheek.

"**So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.**

**"Very."**

**"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"**

**"Three or four times a year."**

**"Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered.**

"Why do you ask such stupid questions?" Asked Jasper.

**"Sunny," I told him.**

**"You don't look very tan."**

**"My mother is part albino."**

**He studied my face apprehensively, and I sighed. It looked like clouds and a sense of humor didn't mix. **

"It was funny, but I know that you can do better." Emmet whined.

**A few months of this and I'd forget how to use sarcasm.**

"Well, If you hang out with us, there is no chance your gonna lose your sarcasm. I have lived here 2 years and I joke every day." Said Emmett with a grin.

_"More like every minute."_ Thought all his siblings.

**We walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. Eric walked me right to the door, though it was clearly marked.**

"And we have Bella's first admirer." Emmett said cheerfully.

**"Well, good luck," he said as I touched the handle. "Maybe we'll have some other classes together." He sounded hopeful.**

**I smiled at him vaguely and went inside.**

Emmett and Jasper glared at Eric, unhappy that he fancied there baby sister.

**The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the subject he taught, was the only one who made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself.**

**I stammered, blushed, and tripped over my own boots on the way to my seat.**

Emmett laughed at that and Bella blushed which lead to Edward asking Emmet to shut up.

**After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, but mostly I just lied a lot. **

**At least I never needed the map.**

"That's right, see everything from the bright side."

**One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. **

**I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she prattled about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep up.**

"Thanks Bella, that really warms my heart." Said Jessica with a rude tone.

**We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from English, Eric, waved at me from across the room.**

**It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.**

"I guess this is where the story really becomes interesting because Bella sees us here." Emmet said.

"Thank you Emmet for that piece of information that everyone already knew." Alice said. Emmet stuck his tongue out at her.

"I have always wondered what you thought of us." Mused Edward.

"Well if you shut your mouth and listen you will know." Said Bella jokingly.

**They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught, and held, my attention.**

"Wow, you really notice a lot." Jasper shook his head.

**They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big — muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair.**

"ME!" Emmett screamed excitedly. Everyone laughed at him.

"No, really, for a moment I thought it was Jasper."

**Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond. **

"That's my Jazzy." Alice sang and Jasper kissed her cheek.

**The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. **

"Nice description you get Eddie." Emmett laughed, Edward frowned, and Bella pecked him on the lips quickly.

**He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers here rather than students. The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back. **

"It's my Rosie." Emmett screamed yet again. Rosalie smiled at Bella for the description of her.

**The short girl was pixie like, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.**

"That would be me!" Alice shouted and Bella laughed at her, it was a perfect description of her.

**And yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler than me, the albino. **

"Now that was much more funny Bella, good job!" Emmett clapped for her and she stuck her tongue out at him and made him laugh.

**They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair tones. **

"Most people don't even look into our eyes." Jasper whispered. "How did Bell's notice that?"

**Also had dark shadows under those eyes — purplish, bruise like shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night,**

"Ain't that the truth?" Emmett whispered.

**or almost done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their features, were straight, perfect, angular.**

**But all this is not why I couldn't look away.**

"Huh, what was it then?" Asked Edward.

**I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine. Or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful — maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronze haired boy.**

"Aw, Eddie she thinks you're beautiful." Emmett laughed and Edward and Bella looked embarrassed.

"Of course I do. I date him."

**They were all looking away — away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as I could tell. As I watched, the small girl rose with her tray — unopened soda, unbitten apple — **

"Just like the front cover." Jessica said

**and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. I watched, amazed at her lithe dancer's step, till she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than I would have thought possible. **

"Damn it. You shouldn't be noticing these things." Alice whispered to her and their family.

**My eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchanging.**

**"Who are they?" I asked the girl from my Spanish class, whose name I'd forgotten.**

Jessica huffed.

**As she looked up to see who I meant — though already knowing, probably, from my tone — suddenly he looked at her, the thinner one, the boyish one, the youngest, perhaps.**

"Yeah, it is true." Edward said.

**He looked at my neighbor for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flickered to mine.**

"Aw, the first look!" Alice said.

**He looked away quickly, more quickly than I could, though in a flush of embarrassment I dropped my eyes at once. In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest — it was as if she had called his name, and he'd looked up in involuntary response, already having decided not to answer.**

"How did you know that? We haven't even met each other yet.

**My neighbor giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table like I did.**

**"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She said this under her breath. I glanced sideways at the beautiful boy, who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I felt he was speaking quietly to them.**

"How did she noticing all this stuff?" Rosalie asked her siblings quietly. They all shrugged.

**Strange, unpopular names, I thought. The kinds of names grandparents had. But maybe that was in vogue here — small town names? I finally remembered that my neighbor was called Jessica, a perfectly common name. There were two girls named Jessica in my History class back home.**

**"They are… very nice-looking." I struggled with the conspicuous understatement.**

"Aww thanks Bell's." They all said.

**"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all together though — Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, I thought critically. But, if I was being honest, I had to admit that even in Phoenix, it would cause gossip.**

**"Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked. "They don't look related…"**

**"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins — the blondes — and they're foster children."**

**"They look a little old for foster children."**

"Yeah, a little old." Smirked Bella, but no one heard her, no human at least.

**"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."**

"No, she's not our aunt. Or, I guess she is but she is our mum. I don't think we ever thought of her like a aunt, right Jasper?"

"Of course, she has always been our mom, even if she isn't our biological mom.

"Same here. Best mum ever!" Sung all Cullen's.

**"That's really kind of nice — for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."**

**"I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children, I would presume the reason was jealousy. **

"And you have no idea of how much." Jasper thought.

**"I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness.**

All Cullen's begun to glare at Jessica, mad that she thought so low about their mum.

"It doesn't. Esme is the most kindhearted women I ever have met. I don't think anyone is as kind and sweet like her." Said Bella and the students looked at her surprised.

"I will let Esme know how highly you think of her, she will be very happy you know." Said Alice and Bella blushed at that.

**Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat.**

**"Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked. Surely I would have noticed them on one of my summers here. **

"I'm sure you would have, love."

**"No," she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."**

**I felt a surge of pity, and relief. **

"You were on my radar then." Whispered Jasper, curious why.

**Pity because, as beautiful as they were, they were outsiders, clearly not accepted. Relief that I wasn't the only newcomer here, and certainly not the most interesting by any standard. **

"Ahh, that explained that."

**I examined them, the youngest; one of the Cullen's, looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression. **

"And we all know why."

**As I looked swiftly away, it seemed to me that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation.**

All the students in the room that didn't know what was going on were looking confused.

**"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I asked. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was still staring at me, but not gawking like the other students had today — he had a slightly frustrated expression. I looked down again.**

Edward smiled because she was asking about him and no one else.

**"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when he'd turned her down. **

"A bunch of times." Edward said out loud. Jessica looked embarrassed.

"Edward, don't be rude." Scolded Bella and his brothers laughed at that. A human scolded a vampire.

**I bit my lip to hide my smile. Then I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared lifted, as if he were smiling, too. **

"Your first joke." Smiled a few girls.

**After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They all were noticeably graceful — even the big, brawny one. It was unsettling to watch. The one named Edward didn't look at me again.**

"I did, but only when you didn't see me."

**I sat at the table with Jessica and her friends longer than I would have if I'd been sitting alone. I was anxious not to be late for class on my first day. One of my new acquaintances, who considerately reminded me that her name was Angela, had Biology II with me the next hour. **

"It looks like we finally get to know what you did to make Eddie here run away."

"You already know that moron." Edward said.

**We walked to class together in silence. She was shy, too.**

**When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table exactly like the ones I was used to. She already had a neighbor. In fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I recognized Edward Cullen by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single open seat.**

**As I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my slip signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face — it was hostile, furious. **

"I'm sorry Bell…"

"Don't you dare say sorry. You didn't do anything wrong." Threatened Bella.

**I looked away quickly, shocked, going red again. I stumbled over a book in the walkway and had to catch myself on the edge of a table. The girl sitting there giggled.**

**I'd noticed that his eyes were black — coal black.**

"But no one notices our eyes."

"She's Bella Jasper."

**Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no nonsense about introductions. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he had no choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room. I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by him, bewildered by the antagonistic stare he'd given me.**

Edward opened his mouth but closed it when he saw Bella's stare.

**I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad.**

"Or something good."

**Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair. It smelled like strawberries, the scent of my favorite shampoo. It seemed an innocent enough odor. I let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us, and tried to pay attention to the teacher.**

**Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied. I took notes carefully anyway, always looking down.**

**I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally through the screen of my hair at the strange boy next to me. During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. This, too, he never relaxed. **

"Why aren't you scared of me?"

"I never have been, and never will be."

**The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was finally coming to a close, or because I was waiting for his tight fist to loosen? It never did; he continued to sit so still it looked like he wasn't breathing. What was wrong with him?**

"A lot actually." Said his siblings and Bella to his surprise.

**Was this his normal behavior? I questioned my judgment on Jessica's bitterness at lunch today. Maybe she was not as resentful as I'd thought.**

**It couldn't have anything to do with me. He didn't know me from Eve.**

**I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase if looks could kill suddenly ran through my mind.**

Edward looked ashamed of himself but Bella gave him a hug and told him everything was fine.

**At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose — he was much taller than I'd thought — his back to me, and he was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat.**

**I sat frozen in my seat, staring blankly after him. He was so mean. It wasn't fair. I began gathering up my things slowly, trying to block the anger that filled me, for fear my eyes would tear up. For some reason, my temper was hardwired to my tear ducts. I usually cried when I was angry, a humiliating tendency.**

"You were angry at me?" Asked Edward surprised.

**"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" a male voice asked.**

**I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way. He obviously didn't think I smelled bad.**

"Mike." All Cullen's said.

**"Bella," I corrected him, with a smile.**

**"I'm Mike."**

"Ding ding, ding. And we have a winner" Alice joked.

**"Hi, Mike."**

**"Do you need any help finding your next class?"**

**"I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it."**

"I think she can find the gym by herself." Muttered Edward.

**"That's my next class, too." He seemed thrilled, though it wasn't that big of a coincidence in a school this small.**

**We walked to class together; he was a chatterer — he supplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for me. He'd lived in California till he was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. It turned out he was in my English class also. He was the nicest person I'd met today.**

"Thank you Bella." Mike said.

"Uh, you're welcome." She said back, not knowing what to say.

**But as we were entering the gym, he asked, "So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."**

"You should so totally stab him with a pencil that would be so funny!" Emmett said. "I would love to see you do that." He gets a dreamy face and pictures Bella stab Edward with a pencil.

**I cringed. So I wasn't the only one who had noticed. And, apparently, that wasn't Edward Cullen's usual behavior. I decided to play dumb.**

**"Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" I asked artlessly.**

**"Yes," he said. "He looked like he was in pain or something."**

**"I don't know," I responded. "I never spoke to him."**

**"He's a weird guy." **

Emmett's booming laughter filled the gym again. "So true, so true."

**Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the dressing room. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."**

"Another admirer." Alice said. Mike looked embarrassed and Edward growled lowly under his breath.

**I smiled at him before walking through the girls' locker room door. He was friendly and clearly admiring. But it wasn't enough to ease my irritation.**

**The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found me a uniform but didn't make me dress down for today's class. At home, only two years of PE. were required. Here, P.E. was mandatory all four years. Forks was literally my personal hell on Earth.**

"It's a shame that I have quit, I would love to see you in gym." Emmett laughed. He was going to have so much fun with these books.

"Thank god, for small miracles."

**I watched four volleyball games running simultaneously. Remembering how many injuries I had sustained — and inflicted — playing volleyball, I felt faintly nauseated.**

**The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder. I wrapped my arms around myself.**

**When I walked into the warm office, I almost turned around and walked back out.**

**Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of me. **

"Why are you in there?" Emmett asked. Edward didn't answer, Emmet should know the answer.

**I recognized again that tousled bronze hair. He didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance. I stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free.**

**He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time — any other time.**

"Eddie you have an attractive voice." Emmett laughed. Bella looked down embarrassed, but Edward only laughed and kissed her neck.

**I just couldn't believe that this was about me. It had to be something else, something that happened before I entered the Biology room. The look on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger could take such a sudden, intense dislike to me.**

**The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face. **

**The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at me — his face was absurdly handsome — with piercing, hate-filled eyes. For an instant, I felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms. **

"OH MY GOD! You did just have a natural reaction." Edward said

**The look only lasted a second, but it chilled me more than the freezing wind. **

"Edward don't even try to apologize." Bella said to him when he opened his mouth.

**He turned back to the receptionist.**

**"Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And he turned on his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door.**

**I went meekly to the desk, my face white for once instead of red, and handed her the signed slip.**

**"How did your first day go, dear?" the receptionist asked maternally.**

**"Fine," I lied, my voice weak. She didn't look convinced.**

"Of course not, you can't lie."

**When I got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. It seemed like a haven, already the closest thing to home I had in this damp green hole. I sat inside for a while, just staring out the windshield blankly. But soon I was cold enough to need the heater, so I turned the key and the engine roared to life. I headed back to Charlie's house, fighting tears the whole way there.**

"Edward, you made her cry." Said Emmett seriously, yes he did know why he had acted that why but that doesn't mean he liked it.

"I'm sorry Bella." Apologized Edward.

"It's okay, I now why. You didn't do anything wrong.

"Who wants to read now?" Asked Greene. Jessica raised her hand and Alice gave it to her


	3. open book

AN: Oh, and Rose will be nice to Bella, so she will talk to her and protect her.

Also thank you for your reviews, and everyone that follows and favorites my story. Love you guys.

* * *

**"Open Book,"** Jessica read,

**The next day was better… and worse.**

"How can something be better and worse?" Asked many people confused.

"Hey, Emmett, I bet that her day is worse because of Edward.

"How much?" Emmett jumped almost in the seat of pleasure from the thought of winning a bet.

"The usual." Smirked Jasper.

"You're on." Boomed Emmett.

"Did they just bet 500 on if my day was worse if Edward wasn't there?" Asked Bella.

"This is my brother and boyfriend you're talking about; sometimes I wonder if they have any brains." Sighed Rosalie.

**It was better because it wasn't raining yet, though the clouds were dense and opaque. It was easier because I knew what to expect of my day. Mike came to sit by me in English, and walked me to my next class, with Chess Club Eric glaring at him all the while; that was nattering.**

"Why do you call me Chess Club Eric?"Asked Eric annoyed.

"I just did that, it's not that I knew everyone would read my thoughts out loud." Snapped she back and a few (or everyone actually) glanced at her in shock except Rosalie who looked proudly at her.

**People didn't look at me quite as much as they had yesterday. I sat with a big group at lunch that included Mike, Eric, Jessica, and several other people whose names and faces I now remembered. I began to feel like I was treading water, instead of drowning in it.**

"Just to be sure, have you almost drowned? "

"No, I haven't. Just because I have bad luck does not mean I almost die all the time."

"Way to go Bella. Show him who is the boss." Cheered Alice and Rosalie.

**It was worse because I was tired; I still couldn't sleep with the wind echoing around the house. **

"You get used to it." Said Angela, before she become quiet.

"I know, but it was hard the first few months." She smiled to her best human friend.

**It was worse because Mr. Varner called on me in Trig when my hand wasn't raised and I had the wrong answer.**

"I hate when teacher's do that, if we can answer then we would raise our hands. So why do they continue to ask if we haven't raise our hands?" Asked Mike.

"Maybe so that you can learn something, moron." Snapped Rosalie, she could tell that Bella just wanted do get this over.

**It was miserable because I had to play volleyball, and the one time I didn't cringe out of the way of the ball, I hit my teammate in the head with it.**

"And there we have the Bella we all know and love." Said Jasper and made Bella blush. Edward kissed her on the mouth in front of the whole school. A few wolf whistled but most of the students glared at Bella or Edward.

**And it was worse because Edward Cullen wasn't in school at all.**

"What was what I said. Pay up brother." Jasper smirked when he got the money and most of the school gasped when they saw how much they played with.

**All morning I was dreading lunch, fearing his bizarre glares. Part of me wanted to confront him and demand to know what his problem was. **

"I would love to see you do that."

"What, you don't think I can take care of myself?"

"Yes, I do think that, but I don't think that you have any power over Edward."

"Ohhh, just wait. You have no idea of how much he is afraid of me." She smirked.

"Dude, you are afraid of Bella. Our little Bella?" Asked all Cullen's in disbelief, no one other than Bella noticed that Rosalie said our little Bella.

"You would be afraid to if you have seen her when she was really mad at me. It was the scariest thing you ever have seen." He shuddered just of the thought of it.

"Bella, I think I love you." Explained Emmett and everyone gasped. "No one has ever made my brother this scarred, what the hell did you do? I need to know so I can do it."

"Of course, I think you gave everyone a heart attack. It would be a lot of drama like on TVs when two brothers love the same women." Snorted Rose.

"But honestly, what did you do?"

"Don't tell them Bella, please." Begged Edward on his knees.

"Well, I was really mad and we discussed a thing, you know that I have asked for a million times and it is my life. "

"Bella, don't tell them." Edward shouted

"Tell us more." His siblings yelled at the same time..

"Anyway, I had the worst week ever and I cooked dinner and we started to shout at each other…"

"He becomes scarred of you because you shouted at him." Asked Emmett in disbelief.

"No, I really lost my temper so I start throwing things around. When he tried to calm me down, and I…" Edward covered her mouth with his hand so she nothing said was heard.

"No, we want to hear the end." Whined everyone.

"I started throwing things at him, like glasses and knives." Mumbled she so that only the Cullen's heard her and they started laugh so hard that everyone (Except Edward) fall out of their chairs.

"OH. MY. GOD. I would pay to see you do that." Laughed Rose and Alice and the rest of the school starred at them like they were crazy.

"I have it on tape." All Cullen's eyes lighted up.

"You have what." Shirked Edward but Jessica decided that it was time to start reading agin."

**While I was lying sleepless in my bed, I even imagined what I would say. But I knew myself too well to think I would really have the guts to do it. I made the Cowardly Lion look like the terminator.**

"Bella you're not a coward trust me, you are the bravest person I have ever met. Heck, you are the bravest person Carlisle's ever have meet, he said it himself, and you know how many people he has met." Whispered Alice.

**But when I walked into the cafeteria with Jessica — trying to keep my eyes from sweeping the place for him, and failing entirely — I saw that his four siblings of sorts were sitting t together at the same table, and he was not with them.**

"Aww, Belly misses Eddie." Sang Emmett and the school burst out laughing at Edward's nickname.

**Mike intercepted us and steered us to his table. Jessica seemed elated by the attention, **

Jessica threw Bella a nasty glare.

**and her friends quickly joined us. But as I tried to listen to their easy chatter, I was terribly uncomfortable, waiting nervously for the moment he would arrive. I hoped that he would simply ignore me when he came, and prove my suspicions false.**

**He didn't come, and as time passed I grew more and more tense.**

"I'm so…"

"Edward, stop saying you're sorry when you don't have anything to be sorry for.

**I walked to Biology with more confidence when, by the end of lunch, he still hadn't showed. Mike, who was taking on the qualities of a golden retriever, walked faithfully by my side to class. **

Everyone burst out laughing at that and Emmett went up and hugs Bella.

"I truly love your thoughts."

"I'm glad my thoughts amuse someone."

**I held my breath at the door, but Edward Cullen wasn't there, either. I exhaled and went to my seat. Mike followed, talking about an upcoming trip to the beach.**

Bella wrinkled her nose. A few notice and at last Jessica decided to ask what it was.

"Is there something wrong with the beach?"

"Well, I just remember what beach it was, and honestly I don't like that beach."

"Why not, that beach is awesome!"

"It will be explained in the book."

**He lingered by my desk till the bell rang. Then he smiled at me wistfully and went to sit by a girl with braces and a bad perm. It looked like I was going to have to do something about Mike, and it wouldn't be easy. In a town like this, where everyone lived on top of everyone else, diplomacy was essential. I had never been enormously tactful; I had no practice dealing with overly friendly boys.**

"I'm not over friendly." Yelled both Mike and Eric but no one cared.

"Are you serious? Have you never deal with boys before you came here?" Asked Rosalie dumbfounded.

"No, no boy ever looked at me before I got here. I suppose I wasn't pretty enough."

"Don't say that Bella, you're beautiful." Mumbled Edward against her head.

"My brother is right, you're beautiful." Everyone stared at Rosalie. "What, I haven't been so nice to Bella before, but it's the truth."

**I was relieved that I had the desk to myself, that Edward was absent. I told myself that repeatedly. But I couldn't get rid of the nagging suspicion that I was the reason he wasn't there. It was ridiculous, and egotistical, to think that I could affect anyone that strongly. It was impossible. And yet I couldn't stop worrying that it was true.**

**When the school day was finally done, and the blush was fading out of my cheeks from the volleyball incident, **

"What happened?"

"You don't want to know."

**I changed quickly back into my jeans and navy blue sweater. I hurried from the girls' locker room, pleased to find that I had successfully evaded my retriever friend for the moment. I walked swiftly out to the parking lot. It was crowded now with fleeing students. I got in my truck and dug through my bag to make sure I had what I needed.**

**Last night I'd discovered that Charlie couldn't cook much besides fried eggs and bacon.**

**So I requested that I be assigned kitchen detail for the duration of my stay. **

"How can you survive on breakfast?" Asked many girls.

"I have no idea how he managed." Bella replied.

"Are you kidding me? That would be great, breakfast rocks." Yelled Emmett.

**He was willing enough to hand over the keys to the banquet hall. I also found out that he had no food in the house. So I had my shopping list and the cash from the jar in the cupboard labeled FOOD MONEY, and I was on my way to the Thriftway.**

**I gunned my deafening engine to life, ignoring the heads that turned in my direction, and backed carefully into a place in the line of cars that were waiting to exit the parking lot. As I waited, trying to pretend that the earsplitting rumble was coming from someone else's car, I saw the two Cullen's and the Hale twins getting into their car. It was the shiny new Volvo. Of course. I hadn't noticed their clothes before — **

"You what?" Alice screamed.

"I love your clothes, and you know it." Alice only smiled.

**I'd been too mesmerized by their faces. Now that I looked, it was obvious that they were all dressed exceptionally well; simply, but in clothes that subtly hinted at designer origins. With their remarkable good looks, the style with which they carried themselves, they could have worn dishrags and pulled it off. **

"Eww, I would never ever let my family wear that."

"Alice, when I said, no thought that. I meant that you all are so beautiful. Not that you should wear that."

"Nice save." Stage whispered Emmett.

**It seemed excessive for them to have both looks and money. **

**But as far as I could tell, life worked that way most of the time. It didn't look as if it bought them any acceptance here.**

**No, I didn't fully believe that. The isolation must be their desire; I couldn't imagine any door that wouldn't be opened by that degree of beauty.**

**They looked at my noisy truck as I passed them, just like everyone else.**

"Actually, we wanted to see the girl that scarred Edward away after only one hour."

"Emmett wanted to give you a prize for that."

**I kept my eyes straight forward and was relieved when I finally was free of the school grounds.**

**The Thriftway was not far from the school, just a few streets south, off the highway. It was nice to be inside the supermarket; it felt normal. I did the shopping at home, and I fell into the pattern of the familiar task gladly. The store was big enough inside that I couldn't hear the tapping of the rain on the roof to remind me where I was.**

"Are you really that unhappy?" Asked not Alice… but Rosalie!

"Not now, but I was before I became friends with you guys.

**When I got home, I unloaded all the groceries, stuffing them in wherever I could find an open space. I hoped Charlie wouldn't mind. I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a steak in marinade and balanced it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge.**

**When I was finished with that, I took my book bag upstairs. Before starting my homework, I changed into a pair of dry sweats, pulled my damp hair up into a pony-tail, and checked my e-mail for the first time. I had three messages.**

"Probably all from your mom." Said Mrs Jones, a teacher at the school.

**"_Bella,_" my mom wrote…**

**_Write me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your flight was. Is it raining? I miss you already. I'm almost finished packing for Florida, but I can't find my pink blouse. Do you know where I put it? Phil says hi. Mom._**

**I sighed and went to the next. It was sent eight hours after the first.**

**"_Bella_," she wrote…**

**_Why haven't you e-mailed me yet? _**

"Someone is worried."

**_What are you waiting for? _**

**_Mom._**

**The last was from this morning.**

**_Isabella_****,**

"Someone's in trouble!" Emmett, Jasper and Edward sang.

"Do you want me to be in trouble?" Asked Bella confused.

"No, of course not." "Yes, it is funny, it happens so rarely." Answered all of them.

**_If I haven't heard from you by 5:30 pm today I'm calling Charlie. _**

**I checked the clock. I still had an hour, but my mom was well known for jumping the gun.**

**_Mom,_**

**_Calm down. I'm writing right now. _**

"Well actually you're typing not writing." Pointed Rosalie out.

"What is the different?" Asked her boyfriend/husband confused.

"When you're writing you use a pen, and when you're typing you use a computer."

**_Don't do anything rash._**

**_Bella._**

**I sent that, and began again.**

**_Mom,_**

**_Everything is great. Of course it's raining. I was waiting for something to write about._**

"Why don't you just write… sorry type about how much you love Eddie boy?"

"Em, don't tease Bella and you know that Edward hates the nickname Eddie."

"Sorry darling, Sorry sis, sorry Edwinna." He smirked at Edward when everyone burst out laughing (again) at his ridiculous nickname.

"It has a nice ring to it." Mused Bella quietly.

**_School isn't bad, just a little repetitive. I met some nice kids who sit by me at lunch. Your blouse is at the dry cleaners - you were supposed to pick it up Friday. Charlie bought me a truck, can you believe it? I love it. It's old, but really sturdy, which is good, you know, for me. _**

"Hate that truck." Mumbled Edward.

**_I miss you, too. I'll write again soon, but I'm not going to check my e-mail every five minutes. Relax, breathe. _**

**_I love you._**

**_Bella._**

**I had decided to read Wuthering Heights — the novel we were currently studying in English — yet again for the fun of it, **

"I just don't get what you like in that book."

"Are you kidding me, I love all the drama and love and everything." Sighed all Cullen's girls. (Bella included)

"It's not a love story, it's a hate story." Argued Edward.

"Honey, don't talk if you don't know what your talking about."

**and that's what I was doing when Charlie came home. I'd lost track of the time, and I hurried downstairs to take the potatoes out and put the steak in to broil.**

**"Bella?" my father called out when he heard me on the stairs.**

**Who else? I thought to myself.**

"Oh, maybe a mass murder, a stalker or a vampire, or a vampire stalker." Chuckled Emmett but said that last bit quiet.

**"Hey, Dad, welcome home."**

**"Thanks." He hung up his gun belt and stepped out of his boots as I bustled about the kitchen. As far as I was aware, he'd never shot the gun on the job. But he kept it ready.**

**When I came here as a child, he would always remove the bullets as soon as he walked in the door. I guess he considered me old enough now not to shoot myself by accident, and not depressed enough to shoot myself on purpose.**

"I would never do something like that… I think." Thought Bella, happy that Edward can't read her mind.

**"What's for dinner?" he asked warily. My mother was an imaginative cook, and her experiments weren't always edible. I was surprised, and sad, that he seemed to remember that far back.**

**"Steak and potatoes," I answered, and he looked relieved.**

"How can humans eat that?" Asked Emmett disgusted.

"How can you drink animal blood." Whispered Bella back.

"Touché"

**He seemed to feel awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing; he lumbered into the living room to watch TV while I worked. We were both more comfortable that way. I made a salad while the steaks cooked, and set the table.**

**I called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as he walked into the room.**

**"Smells good, Bell."**

**"Thanks."**

**We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. Neither of us was bothered by the quiet. In some ways, we were well suited for living together**

"I don't understand, you say that you and Charlie are suited to live together, but how could you live with your mother, I have met her, and she is your opposite."

"Oh, but she was my only friend and I took care of her and she took care of me, sometimes."

**"So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" he asked as he was taking seconds.**

**"Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. I sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice." With one outstanding exception.**

"Honesty I don't know if I think that about Jessica anymore, I have heard a few things."

"What a great friend you are Bella, just because you hear some rumors you don't want to be friends with me anymore." She sneered.

"Oh, trust me, my sources are very believable. They know things no one other than you self know, want prof?" She smirked evilly.

"You are bluffing." But she sounded unsure.

"Bella, what are you doing?"

"She deserve it." She answered her boyfriend. "You know, I think it was this summer, you were at the beach, with a boy from the reservation…"

"Stop, I trust you, but don't you dare say anything." She glared at her. Rosalie stood up and walked over to Bella before she bent down before she gave her a hug.

"Bella, I think I misjudged you, that rocked. Will you forgive me?"

"Of-of course, I have come to see you like my protective big sister, even if you don't like me."

"I do like you; I was just angry at my brother and let it out on you, sorry for that." (And that was the beginning on a great sisterhood.)

**(AN: In this story Bella doesn't like Jessica at all because Jess only used Bella to be popular.) **

**"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid — nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here." **

"Nice kid, if he just knew what he thinks of my Bella." Thought Edward.

**"Do you know the Cullen family?" I asked hesitantly. **

"Asking about us now?" Emmett questioned.

"Where else would I get my information?"

**"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."**

All Cullen's kids beamed. "Best dad ever." They shouted and Bella nodded her head, he truly was an amazing father. She thought back to all the times she had to visit him in the hospital and how he always treated her like a daughter.

**"The… the kids… are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school." **

**Charlie surprised me by looking angry.**

**"People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder. "We're lucky to have him — lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature — I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should — camping trips every other weekend… Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk."**

"Wow!" All the Cullen's said.

"I think that's one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about us." Rosalie said shocked.

"He really likes you guys."

**It was the longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel strongly about whatever people were saying.**

"Oh, he does. He never talks that much to anyone." She sounds a little sad but shakes it off.

**I backpedaled. "They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive," I added, trying to be more complimentary.**

**"You should see the doctor," Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."**

"They do, maybe I need to visit the hospital more often." Came a voice from the doors.

"Mom." Shouted all the Cullen's. "What are you doing here?"

"The teachers called and asked if I could come here to read a book about Bella." She explained when she walked to the front.

"Hello Esme, how are you." Most of the school gaped at the fact that she called Mrs Cullen by her first name. (**AN: I know she did it earlier but that wasn't to her face)**

"Kind at always Bella, I'm fine, and I know that you're fine but a little irritated. A mother always knows. Even if you aren't my child." Added she in the end.

"Of course, you always know. And don't worry, Carlisle only sees you and anyway. The nurses can't compete with you." Bella smiled at her when she sat down beside Jasper.

**We lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table while I started on the dishes. He went back to the TV, and after I finished washing the dishes by hand — no dishwasher — I went upstairs unwillingly to work on my math homework. I could feel a tradition in the making. That night it was finally quiet. I fell asleep quickly, exhausted.**

"Don't worry Esme; it's much easier to sleep now." Bella smiled at her worried face.

**The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my classes. By Friday I was able to recognize, if not name, almost all the students at school. In Gym, the kids on my team learned not to pass me the ball and to step quickly in front of me if the other team tried to take advantage of my weakness. I happily stayed out of their way.**

"To bad, I love when you cause some sort of accident."

"Emmett, it isn't funny, she could get hurt. Do you want that? You can tease her, but don't hope that she will cause an accident." Scolded Rosalie and Esme raised a perfect eyebrow.

"Rosalie and Bella have become friends, I'm not sure how it happened but Rose apologized to Bella and she forgave her. Just go with it." Explained Jasper quickly.

**Edward Cullen didn't come back to school.**

Bella pouted at that.

**Every day, I watched anxiously until the rest of the Cullen's entered the cafeteria without him. Then I could relax and join in the lunchtime conversation. Mostly it centered around a trip to the La Push Ocean Park in two weeks that Mike was putting together. I was invited, and I had agreed to go, more out of politeness than desire.**

**Beaches should be hot and dry.**

"Not in Forks."

**By Friday I was perfectly comfortable entering my Biology class, no longer worried that Edward would be there. For all I knew, he had dropped out of school. I tried not to think about him, but I couldn't totally suppress the worry that I was responsible for his continued absence, ridiculous as it seemed.**

"Don't say anything Edwinna." Smiled Bella angelicly, and people begun to laugh.

"How did you… wait did you just call me Edwinna." Asked Edward in disbelief.

"Yes, I think it is cute and suits you." She smiled when Emmett gave her a high five.

"Let me guess, Edward has apologizes pretty much, Emmett comes up with Edwinna and Bella now uses it to annoy Edward."

"Yep, just wait untill lunch and you will hear how Bella scared the life out of Eddie." Esme raised an eyebrow agin wondered how sweet innocent Bella could scare Edward.

**My first weekend in Forks passed without incident. **

"That is some sort of miracle." Laughed Bella.

**Charlie, unused to spending time in the usually empty house, worked most of the weekend. I cleaned the house, got ahead on my homework, and wrote my mom more bogusly cheerful e-mail. I did drive to the library Saturday,**

"Good luck with that." Jasper said sarcastically. "They barley have anything good there."

"I know, but I love your library."

"Of course you do."

**But it was so poorly stocked that I didn't bother to get a card; I would have to make a date to visit Olympia or Seattle soon and find a good bookstore. I wondered idly what kind of gas mileage the truck got… and shuddered at the thought.**

**The rain stayed soft over the weekend, quiet, so I was able to sleep well.**

**People greeted me in the parking lot Monday morning. I didn't know all their names, but I waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder this morning, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took his accustomed seat by my side. We had a pop quiz on Wuthering Heights. It was straightforward, very easy.**

**All in all, I was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had thought I would feel by this point. More comfortable than I had ever expected to feel here.**

A few smiled, they were glad that Bella liked it here.

**When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. **

"Snow!" A lot of pupils screamed.

"Ew." Bella said. Everyone looked at her like she was crazy, except the Cullen's.

"Hello, biggest klutz in the world and snow don't mix at all." She said. Everyone nodded their head in understanding.

**I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at my cheeks, my nose.**

**"Wow," Mike said. "It's snowing."**

**I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face.**

**"Ew." Snow. There went my good day.**

"Bella stop repeating yourself." Emmett said. She just laughed and shook her head at him.

**He looked surprised. "Don't you like snow?"**

**"No. That means it's too cold for rain." Obviously. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes — you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."**

"I agree with Bella."

"Well, that is something I never saw coming." Muttered Edward.

**"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked incredulously.**

**"Sure I have." **

"Sweetie, it doesn't sound like it." Esme said. Everyone agreed with her.

**I paused. "On TV."**

The whole school erupted in laughter. Bella blushed and Edward smiled at her. Esme smiled at them, she really likes Bella and was glad that she belonged to the family.

**Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of his head. We both turned to see where it came from. I had my suspicions about Eric, who was walking away, his back toward us — in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike apparently had the same notion. He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.**

"Dude, that is just stupid." Jasper shook his head.

"Yep, sorry but I would never want Eric as a leader, Jasper here on the other hand. I can totally see him leading an army." Mused Bella and the Cullen's looked at each other surprised. Even when she didn't try she managed to figure out the truth.

**"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" I kept walking as I spoke. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."**

**He just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure.**

**Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. I kept my mouth shut. Sure, it was drier than rain — until it melted in your socks.**

"Yep, Bella is right agin." Edward looked really surprise that Rose didn't hate Bella anymore and actually talked to and about her in a friendly manner.

**I walked alertly to the cafeteria with Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. I kept a binder in my hands, ready to use it as a shield if necessary. **

"I don't think that will help, you can't even walk across a flat surface without finding something to trip over."

**Jessica thought I was hilarious, but something in my expression kept her from lobbing a snowball at me herself.**

"I understand that, she can be scary when she really wants."

**Mike caught up to us as we walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as we got in line to buy food. I glanced toward that table in the corner out of habit. And then I froze where I stood. There were five people at the table.**

"Yes, Edwinna is back." Ben of all people said and Emmett smiled at him.

**Jessica pulled on my arm.**

**"Hello? Bella? What do you want?"**

**I looked down; my ears were hot. I had no reason to feel self-conscious, I reminded myself. I hadn't done anything wrong.**

"No, it's just Edward that can't keep a secret. Don't worry I don't blame you."

"Thanks Rosalie, but I figured most of it out by myself."

"Call me Rose." She smiled at her new sister and swore to protect her no matter what. The rest of the Cullen's gaped at her, she didn't let anyone she didn't consider family call her Rose.

**"What's with Bella?" Mike asked Jessica.**

"Why didn't you just ask her yourself moron?" Jasper and Emmett said at the same time.

"Boys!" Warned Esme.

**"Nothing," I answered. "I'll just get a soda today." I caught up to the end of the line.**

**"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked.**

**"Actually, I feel a little sick," I said, my eyes still on the floor.**

"Aww, that is just cute." Sighed all girls.

**I waited for them to get their food, and then followed them to a table, my eyes on my feet.**

**I sipped my soda slowly, my stomach churning. Twice Mike asked, with unnecessary concern, how I was feeling.**

**I told him it was nothing, but I was wondering if I should play it up and escape to the nurse's office for the next hour.**

Edward felt guilty that he had make Bella act like this.

"Bro, she is going to hit you if you don't stop feel guilty." Whispered Jasper.

**Ridiculous. I shouldn't have to run away. I decided to permit myself one glance at the Cullen family's table. If he was glaring at me, I would skip Biology, like the coward I was.**

**I kept my head down and glanced up under my lashes. None of them were looking this way. I lifted my head a little.**

**They were laughing. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair entirely saturated with melting snow. Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else — only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of us.**

"Directed by Alice." Rose said.

"Hey, I did a perfect job at it!"

"Of course you did shortie." Emmett laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Do you know how much time I spend on my hair?" She glared at him.

**But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. I examined Edward the most carefully.**

**His skin was less pale, I decided — flushed from the snow fight maybe — the circles under his eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. I pondered, staring, trying to isolate the change.**

"Screw what I said about Bella being observant, she notices everything." Muttered Jasper thinking she would have done great in the army. Alice explained for Esme how much Bella hade noticed the first day.

**"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded, her eyes following my stare.**

**At that precise moment, his eyes flashed over to meet mine.**

"Jessica called my name." He whispered into Bella's ear.

**I dropped my head, letting my hair fall to conceal my face. I was sure, though, in the instant our eyes met, that he didn't look harsh or unfriendly as he had the last time I'd seen him. He looked merely curious again, unsatisfied in some way.**

**"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggled in my ear.**

**"He doesn't look angry, does he?" I couldn't help asking.**

**"No," she said, sounding confused by my question. "Should he be?"**

"No. But you should glare at him."

**"I don't think he likes me," I confided. I still felt queasy. I put my head down on my arm.**

**"The Cullen's don't like anybody…well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."**

"Well, that's not true anymore, you've got a place in everyone's heart." Whispered Edward and kissed her temple.

**"Stop looking at him," I hissed.**

**She snickered, but she looked away. I raised my head enough to make sure that she did, contemplating violence if she resisted.**

"Violence, Bella? Really? I would pay to see that." Emmett laughed and Jasper nodded. Bella just blushed.

**Mike interrupted us then — he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted us to join. Jessica agreed enthusiastically. The way she looked at Mike left little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested. I kept silent. I would have to hide in the gym until the parking lot cleared.**

**For the rest of the lunch hour I very carefully kept my eyes at my own table. I decided to honor the bargain I'd made with myself. Since he didn't look angry, I would go to Biology. My stomach did frightened little flips at the thought of sitting next to him again. **

"AWW!"

**I didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual — he seemed to be a popular target for the snowball snipers — but when we went to the door, everyone besides me groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. I pulled my hood up, secretly pleased. I would be free to go straight home after Gym.**

**Mike kept up a string of complaints on the way to building four.**

**Once inside the classroom, I saw with relief that my table was still empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. I kept my eyes away from the door, doodling idly on the cover of my notebook.**

**I heard very clearly when the chair next to me moved, **

Bella looked up at Edward and smiled.

**but my eyes stayed carefully focused on the pattern I was drawing.**

**"Hello," said a quiet, musical voice.**

"Eddie must have a musical voice." Sniggered Emmett.

**I looked up, stunned that he was speaking to me. **

Edward smirked.

**He was sitting as far away from me as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward me. His hair was dripping wet, disheveled — even so, he looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. His dazzling face was friendly, open, a slight smile on his flawless lips. But his eyes were careful.**

"And he has flawless lips." Smirked Jasper.

"I will never live this down." Groaned Edward.

"Oh, don't worry. It will be worse." Edward just groaned agin and hid his face in Bella's hair.

**"My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."**

"Good you're being a gentleman now." Esme said.

**My mind was spinning with confusion. Had I made up the whole thing? He was perfectly polite now. I had to speak; he was waiting. But I couldn't think of anything conventional to say.**

**"H-how do you know my name?" I stammered.**

"Strike number one." Said Alice.

**He laughed a soft, enchanting laugh.**

**"Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive."**

Bella made a face at that.

**I grimaced. I knew it was something like that.**

**"No," I persisted stupidly. "I meant, why did you call me Bella?"**

**He seemed confused. "Do you prefer Isabella?"**

**"No, I like Bella," I said. "But I think Charlie — I mean my dad — must call me Isabella behind my back — that's what everyone here seems to know me as," I tried to explain, feeling like an utter moron.**

**"Oh." He let it drop. I looked away awkwardly.**

"Hate that. The one person's mind I would love to read and I can't." He said quietly. All the other Cullen's laughed at that.

"What's going on?" Bella asked.

"You know about his gift and you are the only exception, he hates it."

**Thankfully, Mr. Banner started class at that moment. I tried to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly. We weren't supposed to use our books. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right.**

**"Get started," he commanded.**

**"Ladies first, partner?" Edward asked. I looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that I could only stare at him like an idiot.**

**"Or I could start, if you wish." The smile faded; he was obviously wondering if I was mentally competent.**

"I didn't think that, I thought you were beautiful."

**"No," I said, flushing. "I'll go ahead."**

**"I was showing off, just a little. I'd already done this lab, and I knew what I was looking for."**

"Smart girl, as always." Esme said and Bella blushed.

**It should be easy. I snapped the first slide into place under the microscope and adjusted it quickly to the 40X objective. I studied the slide briefly.**

**My assessment was confident." Prophase."**

**"Do you mind if I look?" he asked as I began to remove the slide. His hand caught mine, to stop me, as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class. **

"Sorry for that,"

**But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it stung my hand as if an electric current had passed through us.**

"Hmm, really. I must talk to Carlisle about that." Thought Esme and Edward was confused.

**"I'm sorry," he muttered, pulling his hand back immediately. However, he continued to reach for the microscope. I watched him, still staggered, as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than I had.**

**"Prophase," he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and then glanced at it cursorily.**

**"Anaphase," he murmured, writing it down as he spoke.**

**I kept my voice indifferent. "May I?"**

"Trying to prove Eddie wrong? It's not going to happen he's a stupid know-it-all!" Emmett whined.

"Emmett!" Esme scolded him. "Sorry, Eddie." Emmett muttered and Bella smiled at him

"Don't worry Emmett, I think he has met someone he can't cheat against." Jasper's and Emmet's face lighted up at that.

**He smirked and pushed the microscope to me. I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. **

"Why?"

**Dang it, he was right.**

"Like I said." Emmett whined again.

"Meet someone he can't cheat against." Sang Bella

**"Slide three?" I held out my hand without looking at him.**

**He handed it to me; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch my skin again.**

Rosalie glared at Edward again. "That made her more suspicious."

**I took the most fleeting look I could manage.**

**"Interphase." I passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. I would have written it while he looked, but his clear, elegant script intimidated me. I didn't want to spoil the page with my clumsy scrawl.**

"Don't say it Em."

**We were finished before anyone else was close. I could see Mike and his partner comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their book open under the table.**

"Cheaters." Mumbled Emmett.

**Which left me with nothing to do but try to not look at him… unsuccessfully. I glanced up, and he was staring at me, that same inexplicable look of frustration in his eyes.**

"Tried to read her mind?" Alice whispered. Edward nodded "Yes." Edward sulked.

**Suddenly I identified that subtle difference in his face.**

**"Did you get contacts?" I blurted out unthinkingly. He seemed puzzled by my unexpected question.**

**"No."**

"Edward!" Rosalie yelled at him. "You could just tell her the truth right there. And no I'm not angry any longer that Bella was the one how figure it out, but honestly."

**"Oh," I mumbled. "I thought there was something different about your eyes."**

**He shrugged, and looked away.**

**In fact, I was sure there was something different. I vividly remembered the flat black color of his eyes the last time he'd glared at me — the color was striking against the background of his pale skin and his auburn hair. Today, his eyes were a completely different color: a strange ocher, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone. I didn't understand how that could be, unless he was lying for some reason about the contacts. Or maybe Forks was making me crazy in the literal sense of the word.**

"Nah, it's just Eddie." Emmett stated matter of factly. Edward just glared at him.

**I looked down. His hands were clenched into hard fists again.**

**Mr. Banner came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. He looked over our shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers.**

**"So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.**

"Why are you making assumptions? Bella is a very intelligent and bright student." Said Esme and Mr Banner looked a little bit sheepish.

**"Bella," Edward corrected automatically. "Actually, she identified three of the five."**

**Mr. Banner looked at me now; his expression was skeptical.**

**"Have you done this lab before?" he asked.**

**I smiled sheepishly. "Not with onion root."**

**"Whitefish blastula?"**

**"Yeah."**

**Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix ?"**

**"Yes."**

**"Well," he said after a moment, "I guess it's good you two are lab partners." He mumbled something else as he walked away. After he left, I began doodling on my notebook again.**

**"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked. **

"Weather? Really Edward." Alice asked.

"What?" He said innocently. His sisters just rolled there eyes.

**I had the feeling that he was forcing himself to make small talk with me. Paranoia swept over me again. It was like he had heard my conversation with Jessica at lunch and was trying to prove me wrong.**

"That is impossible." Stated a few.

**"Not really," I answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else.**

**I was still trying to dislodge the stupid feeling of suspicion, and I couldn't concentrate.**

**"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.**

**"Or the wet."**

**"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live," he mused.**

**"You have no idea," I muttered darkly.**

**He looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't imagine. **

"Everything about you fascinates me." Edward said and kissed her on the mouth.

**His face was such a distraction that I tried not to look at it any more than courtesy absolutely demanded.**

**"Why did you come here, then?"**

"That was rude!" Esme said to Edward.

"Sorry Bella." Edward apologized.

**No one had asked me that — not straight out like he did, demanding.**

**"It's… complicated."**

**"I think I can keep up," he pressed.**

**I paused for a long moment, and then made the mistake of meeting his gaze. His dark gold eyes confused me, and I answered without thinking.**

**"My mother got remarried," I said.**

**"That doesn't sound so complex," he disagreed, but he was suddenly sympathetic.**

**"When did that happen?"**

**"Last September." My voice sounded sad, even to me.**

**"And you don't like him," Edward surmised, his tone still kind.**

**"No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough."**

**"Why didn't you stay with them?"**

**I couldn't fathom his interest, but he continued to stare at me with penetrating eyes, as if my dull life's story was somehow vitally important.**

**"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living." I half-smiled.**

"Would we know him?" A guy asked.

"Probably not, he's minor league." She answered. The guy just nodded.

**"Have I heard of him?" he asked, smiling in response.**

**"Probably not. He doesn't play well. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot."**

"Bella, stop repeating yourself."

**"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him." He said it as an assumption again, not a question.**

"Edward stop being rude! I brought you up better than this." Esme scolded.

**My chin raised a fraction." No, she did not send me here. I sent myself." His eyebrows knit together. "I don't understand," he admitted, and he seemed unnecessarily frustrated by that fact.**

"Stop reading!" Shouted Emmett.

"What is it?"

"Edward doesn't understand something. I must document this historical moment."

**I sighed. Why was I explaining this to him? He continued to stare at me with obvious curiosity.**

**"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy… so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie." My voice was glum by the time I finished.**

**"But now you're unhappy," he pointed out.**

**"And?" I challenged.**

"You're are the most selfless person I have met Bella."

"I'm not sure about that, Esme." She thought of everything all of the Cullen's have done to her since she came here.

In Bella's eyes where they the selfless ones.

**"That doesn't seem fair." He shrugged, but his eyes were still intense.**

**I laughed without humor. "Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair."**

**"I believe I have heard that somewhere before," he agreed dryly.**

**"So that's all," I insisted, wondering why he was still staring at me that way.**

**His gaze became appraising. "You put on a good show," he said slowly. "But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."**

"Bella is that true?"

"Not any longer, I felt that way before but trust me, moving here was the best thing that has ever happened to me

**I grimaced at him, resisting the impulse to stick out my tongue like a five-year-old, and looked away.**

**"Am I wrong?"**

**I tried to ignore him.**

**"I didn't think so," he murmured smugly.**

"Stupid know it all."

**"Why does it matter to you?" I asked, irritated. **

**I kept my eyes away, watching the teacher make his rounds.**

**"That's a very good question," he muttered, so quietly that I wondered if he was talking to himself. However, after a few seconds of silence, I decided that was the only answer I was going to get.**

"You heard that? But that's impossible."

**I sighed, scowling at the blackboard.**

**"Am I annoying you?" he asked. He sounded amused.**

**I glanced at him without thinking… and told the truth again. "Not exactly. I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read — my mother always calls me her open book." I frowned.**

**"On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read." Despite everything that I'd said and he'd guessed, he sounded like he meant it.**

"Edward, I warned you. How can you be so reckless?" Growled Rosalie.

**"You must be a good reader then," I replied.**

**"Usually." He smiled widely, flashing a set of perfect, ultra white teeth.**

"Trying to scare her?"

"Yes."

"That won't scare Bella, she's tougher than you think." Smiled Alice as she hugged Bella.

**Mr. Banner called the class to order then, and I turned with relief to listen. I was in disbelief that I'd just explained my dreary life to this bizarre, beautiful boy who may or may not despise me. He'd seemed engrossed in our conversation, but now I could see, from the corner of my eye, that he was leaning away from me again, his hands gripping the edge of the table with unmistakable tension.**

**I tried to appear attentive as Mr. Banner illustrated, with transparencies on the overhead projector, what I had seen without difficulty through the microscope. But my thoughts were unmanageable.**

**When the bell finally rang, Edward rushed as swiftly and as gracefully from the room as he had last Monday. And, like last Monday, I stared after him in amazement.**

"Smooth, Edward smooth." Emmett laughed. Edward just rolled his eyes.

**Mike skipped quickly to my side and picked up my books for me. I imagined him with a wagging tail.**

The Cullen's burst out laughing, well Esme tried not to laugh but she smiled at that.

**"That was awful," he groaned. "They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner."**

**"I didn't have any trouble with it," I said, stung by his assumption. **

"Oh, sorry again for that, Bella."

"Why does everyone keep apologizing? It was last year for god's sake."

**I regretted the snub instantly. "I've done the lab before, though," I added before he could get his feelings hurt.**

"We must work on that, you're to sweet for your own good." Mused Rose.

"No, she is perfect."

"Don't worry Edward, she will be the same person, just with a little more attitude." Insured Alice.

**"Cullen seemed friendly enough today," he commented as we shrugged into our raincoats. He didn't seem pleased about it. **

**I tried to sound indifferent. "I wonder what was with him last Monday."**

**I couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as we walked to Gym, and PE. didn't do much to hold my attention, either. Mike was on my team today. He chivalrously covered my position as well as his own, so my woolgathering was only interrupted when it was my turn to serve my team ducked warily out of the way every time I was up.**

**The rain was just a mist as I walked to the parking lot, but I was happier when I was in the dry cab. I got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine. I unzipped my jacket, put the hood down, and fluffed my damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home.**

**I looked around me to make sure it was clear. That's when I noticed the still, white figure. Edward Cullen was leaning against the front door of the Volvo, three cars down from me, and staring intently in my direction. **

"This will be funny. How will Bells react."

"You were there, remember?"

**I swiftly looked away and threw the truck into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in my haste. Lucky for the Toyota, I stomped on the brake in time. It was just the sort of car that my truck would make scrap metal of. I took a deep breath, still looking out the other side of my car, and cautiously pulled out again, with greater success. I stared straight ahead as I passed the Volvo, but from a peripheral peek, I would swear I saw him laughing.**

"I was." Edward smiled.

"Okay kids, this is the last chapter before lunch, who wants to read?" Asked Greene.

"I do it." Offered Mike.


	4. Phenomenon

I want to thank everyone that have added me to their favorites and also those that have left reviews.

* * *

**"Phenomenon" **Mike read.

"What do you mean by phenomenon?" Asked Eric confused.

"Oh, I don't know, if you keep quiet, you will know."

"You know what, I think I've been wrong about you, Bella, I reallywant to know this version of you." Smiled Rosalie.

"What has happened? This is not the innocent, kind Bella I know."

"I'm still the same girl, Edward. I have just got a little more attitude this summer." She kissed him fast on the lips before turning to look at Mike and listen to the reading.

**When I opened my eyes in the morning, something was different.**

"Um, its morning now?"

"It's not what I meant."

**It was the light. It was still the gray-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it was clearer somehow. I realized there was no fog veiling my window.**

"It's snow!" Screamed Alice and bounced, Jasper was trying really hard to not do the same thing because of hers emotions.

"Eww, snow. Hate that!"

"You what!" Screamed Emmett and Alice horrified.

"Hello, Bella Swan here, danger magnet, clumsy. Me and snow just don't work. Like I said before"

**I jumped up to look outside, **

"Be careful so you don't fall." Joked Emmett and Bella being the mature young women she is stuck out her tongue.

**and then groaned in horror.**

**A fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top of my truck, and whitened the road. But that wasn't the worst part. All the rain from yesterday had frozen solid — coating the needles on the trees in fantastic, gorgeous patterns, and making the driveway a deadly ice slick. I had enough trouble not falling down when the ground was dry; it might be safer for me to go back to bed now.**

"Um, Emmett I think I will take you up on that offer regarding about us joining gym class" Jasper smiled at the thought of laughing at school.

"Yeah, that's how we roll Jas" Emmett grinned as he high-fived his brother.

"You both will not do that" Edward growled.

"Getting over protective are we?" Emmet smirked.

Jasper laughed and Edward just growled.

"They can't do that, they don't go here anymore." Sighed Bella in relief and Mike continued reading.

**Charlie had left for work before I got downstairs. In a lot of ways, living with Charlie was like having my own place, and I found myself reveling in the aloneness instead of being lonely.**

**I threw down a quick bowl of cereal and some orange juice from the carton. I felt excited to go to school, and that scared me. **

"There is seriously something wrong with you." Stated Rosalie and Edward glared at her.

Esme looked slightly disappointed but Bella understood what she meant and decided to play along a little.

"I know, there is really something wrong me, I have asked at least five doctors what is wrong but no one knows what it is."

**I knew it wasn't the stimulating learning environment I was anticipating, or seeing my new set of friends. If I was being honest with myself, I knew I was eager to get to school because I would see Edward Cullen. And that was very, very stupid.**

"I agree with you there" Edward sighed.

**I should be avoiding him entirely after my brainless and embarrassing babbling yesterday. And I was suspicious of him; why should he lie about his eyes? I was still frightened of the hostility I sometimes felt emanating from him, and I was still tongue-tied whenever I pictured his perfect face. I was well aware that my league and his league were spheres that did not touch.**

"That is not true" Edward scowled.

"So, she is your type?" Emmett said in an innocent tone that even he knew was fake.

**So I shouldn't be at all anxious to see him today.**

**It took every ounce of my concentration to make it down the icy brick driveway alive. I almost lost my balance when I finally got to the truck, but I managed to cling to the side mirror and save myself. Clearly, today was going to be nightmarish.**

"And I was right." Sighed Bella.

"Wait, what happened?"

"What happened to remembering everything you see or read?" Thought Bella but said out loud.

"Something that helped me to figure your secret out."

**Driving to school, I distracted myself from my fear of falling and my unwanted speculations about Edward Cullen by thinking about Mike and Eric, and the obvious difference in how teenage boys responded to me here.**

"I can't believe that you haven't had a boyfriend before you came here."

**I was sure I looked exactly the same as I had in Phoenix. Maybe it was just that the boys back home had watched me pass slowly through all the awkward phases of adolescence and still thought of me that way. Perhaps it was because I was a novelty here, where novelties were few and far between. Possibly my crippling clumsiness was seen as endearing rather than pathetic, casting me as a damsel in distress. Whatever the reason, Mike's puppy dog behavior and Eric's apparent rivalry with him were disconcerting. I wasn't sure if I didn't prefer being ignored.**

"I think I understand what you mean, you really don't like to be in the spotlight." Mused Rose and Bella nodded

**My truck seemed to have no problem with the black ice that covered the roads. I drove very slowly, though, not wanting to carve a path of destruction through Main Street.**

"It would have been fun if you didn't have a chance to hurt yourself." Laughed Emmett.

**When I got out of my truck at school, I saw why I'd had so little trouble. Something silver caught my eye, and I walked to the back of the truck — carefully holding the side for support — to examine my tires. **

Esme smiled knowing that it was Charlie who did that, he was a good father but she was a little worried for Bella.

**There were thin chains crisscrossed in diamond shapes around them. Charlie had gotten up who knows how early to put snow chains on my truck. My throat suddenly felt tight. I wasn't used to being taken care of, and Charlie's unspoken concern caught me by surprise.**

"He certainly knows Bella well" Esme smiled but was worried that she was so surprised that he put snow chains on the truck.

**I was standing by the back corner of the truck, struggling to fight back the sudden wave of emotion the snow chains had brought on, when I heard an odd sound. It was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. I looked up, startled.**

"Oh no, is this?" Asked Jasper concerned.

**I saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in the movies. Instead, the adrenaline rush seemed to make my brain work much faster, and I was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once.**

"Of course she was." Rosalie said unsurprised.

**Edward Cullen was standing four cars down from me, staring at me in horror.**

"Bella is this when you ended up in hospital?" Asked Angela afraid for her friend.

"For the first time, yes. But don't worry Angela, everyone overreacted it was nothing. I wasn't even hurt." Assured Bella.

**His face stood out from a sea of faces, all frozen in the same mask of shock. But of more immediate importance was the dark blue van that was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of my truck, and I was standing between them. I didn't even have time to close my eyes.**

Almost everyone gasped even if they did know what had happened, Bella was the only one that smiled.

**Just before I heard the shattering crunch of the van folding around the truck bed, something hit me, hard, but not from the direction I was expecting.**

"And there goes our secret." Sighed Rose but smiled, she was really glad that Bella had figure everything out.

**My head cracked against the icy blacktop, and I felt something solid and cold pinning me to the ground. I was lying on the pavement behind the tan car I'd parked next to. But I didn't have a chance to notice anything else, because the van was still coming. It had curled gratingly around the end of the truck and, still spinning and sliding, was about to collide with me again.**

"You have to be kidding me." Shouted Jasper.

"You have some serious bad luck Bells." Emmett said with a reassuring grin.

"Did you just figure that out?"

**A low oath made me aware that someone was with me, and the voice was impossible not to recognize. Two long, white hands shot out protectively in front of me, and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from my face, the large hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the van's body.**

"What." Shirked everyone except the Cullen's and Bella.

"Everything will be explained in the book. Don't worry." Reassured Bella.

**Then his hands moved so fast they blurred. One was suddenly gripping under the body of the van, and something was dragging me, swinging my legs around like a ragdoll's, till they hit the tire of the tan car. A groaning metallic thud hurt my ears, and the van settled, glass popping, onto the asphalt — exactly where, a second ago, my legs had been.**

"I can't believe you noticed everything." Alice shakes her head.

"Thanks I didn't know that" Bella said back sarcastically.

**It was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began. In the abrupt bedlam, I could hear more than one person shouting my name. But more clearly than all the yelling, I could hear Edward Cullen's low, frantic voice in my ear.**

**"Bella? Are you all right?"**

**"I'm fine." My voice sounded strange. I tried to sit up, and realized he was holding me against the side of his body in an iron grasp.**

**"Be careful," he warned as I struggled. "I think you hit your head pretty hard."**

"I can't believe you thought you could fool me with that."

**I became aware of a throbbing ache centered above my left ear.**

**"Ow," I said, surprised.**

Jasper chuckled, "Only you Bella."

**"That's what I thought." His voice, amazingly, sounded like he was suppressing laughter.**

**"How in the…" I trailed off, trying to clear my head, get my bearings. **

**"How did you get over here so fast?"**

**"I was standing right next to you, Bella," he said, his tone serious again.**

"Your excuse was sooooooooo perfect." Rose said sarcastically.

"Why do you insult me all the time?"

"Because I can and you told her things. I'm happy that she knows but I'm not happy that you let her notice these things."

**I turned to sit up, and this time he let me, releasing his hold around my waist and sliding as far from me as he could in the limited space. I looked at his concerned, innocent expression and was disoriented again by the force of his gold-colored eyes.**

**What was I asking him?**

"Maybe I could use that more often." Mused Edward quiet.

**And then they found us, a crowd of people with tears streaming down their faces, shouting at each other, shouting at us.**

**"Don't move," someone instructed.**

**"Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted.**

**There was a flurry of activity around us. I tried to get up, but Edward's cold hand pushed my shoulder down.**

**"Just stay put for now."**

**"But it's cold," I complained. **

"Of everything you are worried about that?" Jasper chuckled.

**It surprised me when he chuckled under his breath. There was an edge to the sound.**

**"You were over there," I suddenly remembered, and his chuckle stopped short. "You were by your car."**

**His expression turned hard. "No, I wasn't."**

"You lie just as good as I do when you lie to me." Chuckled Bella, if she only knew how wrong she was.

**"I saw you." All around us was chaos. I could hear the gruffer voices of adults arriving on the scene. But I obstinately held on to our argument; I was right, and he was going to admit it.**

"Stubborn as always Bella?" Asked Ben.

**"Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way." He unleashed the full, devastating power of his eyes on me, as if trying to communicate something crucial.**

"Please, no one would believe that."

**"No." I set my jaw.**

"See!"

**The gold in his eyes blazed. "Please, Bella."**

**"Why?" I demanded.**

**"Trust me," he pleaded, his soft voice overwhelming.**

**I could hear the sirens now. "Will you promise to explain everything to me later?"**

**"Fine," he snapped, abruptly exasperated.**

"You lied to me."

**"Fine," I repeated angrily.**

**It took six EMTs and two teachers — Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp — to shift the van far enough away from us to bring the stretchers in. Edward vehemently refused his, and I tried to do the same, but the traitor told them I'd hit my head and probably had a concussion.**

"Still hate you for that." Mumbled Bella.

**I almost died of humiliation when they put on the neck brace. It looked like the entire school was there, watching soberly as they loaded me in the back of the ambulance. Edward got to ride in the front. It was maddening.**

**To make matters worse, Chief Swan arrived before they could get me safely away.**

**"Bella!" he yelled in panic when he recognized me on the stretcher.**

**"I'm completely fine, Char — Dad," I sighed. "There's nothing wrong with me."**

"I wouldn't say that. I know a lot of things that is wrong with you."

**He turned to the closest EMT for a second opinion. I tuned him out to consider the jumble of inexplicable images churning chaotically in my head. When they'd lifted me away from the car, I had seen the deep dent in the tan car's bumper — a very distinct dent that fit the contours of Edward's shoulders… as if he had braced himself against the car with enough force to damage the metal frame…**

**And then there was his family, looking on from the distance, with expressions that ranged from disapproval to fury, but held no hint of concern for their brother's safety.**

"Ops, that would make you more suspicious." Giggled Alice

**I tried to think of a logical solution that could explain what I had just seen — a solution that excluded the assumption that I was insane.**

"You must be if you can stand them." Said Esme and pointed at her 'children' who pouted.

**Naturally, the ambulance got a police escort to the county hospital. I felt ridiculous the whole time they were unloading me. What made it worse was that Edward simply glided through the hospital doors under his own power. I ground my teeth together.**

"Wow, you really know how to piss her off."

**They put me in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on my arm and a thermometer under my tongue. Since no one bothered pulling the curtain around to give me some privacy, I decided I wasn't obligated to wear the stupid-looking neck brace anymore. **

"Isabella, I thought you were smarter than to do that." Scolded Carlisle as he came into the room and sat down beside Esme.

"Sorry, but you have seen my medical records. I would know if I have broken or hurt anything."

"I guess, but I would have liked it if you waited."

**When the nurse walked away, I quickly unfastened the Velcro and threw it under the bed.**

"Oh, Bella" Edward laughed as he shook his head.

"I guess there is where we should look if we run out of them." sighted Carlisle.

**There was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher brought to the bed next to me. I recognized Tyler Crowley from my Government class beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head. Tyler looked a hundred times worse than I felt. But he was staring anxiously at me.**

**"Bella, I'm so sorry!"**

"Why do people say sorry even if it wasn't there fault?"

**"I'm fine, Tyler — you look awful, are you all right?" As we spoke, nurses began unwinding his soiled bandages, exposing a myriad of shallow slices all over his forehead and left cheek.**

**He ignored me. "I thought I was going to kill you! I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong…" He winced as one nurse started dabbing at his face.**

**"Don't worry about it; you missed me."**

**"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone…**

**"Umm… Edward pulled me out of the way."**

**He looked confused. "Who?"**

"The first person that doesn't know us." Thought Emmett

**"Edward Cullen — he was standing next to me." I'd always been a terrible liar; I didn't sound convincing at all.**

"I guess I never said thank you for protecting us."

**"Cullen? I didn't see him… wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?"**

"Why can't you respond or think or look at stuff like him?" Edward asked.

"Because I'm not like normal people?"

"That is true." Said all the Cullen's at the same time.

**"I think so. He's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use a stretcher."**

**I knew I wasn't crazy. What had happened? There was no way to explain away what I'd seen.**

**They wheeled me away then, to X-ray my head. I told them there was nothing wrong, and I was right. Not even a concussion. **

"See, I told ya."

**I asked if I could leave, but the nurse said I had to talk to a doctor first. So I was trapped in the ER, waiting, harassed by Tyler 's constant apologies and promises to make it up to me. No matter how many times I tried to convince him I was fine, he continued to torment himself. Finally, I closed my eyes and ignored him. He kept up a remorseful mumbling.**

**"Is she sleeping?" a musical voice asked. My eyes flew open.**

**Edward was standing at the foot of my bed, smirking. I glared at him. It wasn't easy — it would have been more natural to ogle.**

**"Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry —"Tyler began.**

**Edward lifted a hand to stop him.**

**"No blood, no foul," he said, flashing his brilliant teeth. **

**He moved to sit on the edge of Tyler's bed, facing me. He smirked again.**

**"So, what's the verdict?" he asked me.**

**"There's nothing wrong with me at all, but they won't let me go," I complained. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"**

**"It's all about who you know," he answered. "But don't worry, I came to spring you."**

**Then a doctor walked around the corner, and my mouth fell open. **

"I take it that is my entrance." Carlisle said

**He was young, he was blond… and he was handsomer than any movie star I'd ever seen. He was pale, though, and tired-looking, with circles under his eyes. From Charlie's description, this had to be Edward's father.**

"Thanks Bella, I guess."

"No problem… why do we have to read my thoughts? Why not Edwards?" She blushed.

**"So, Miss Swan," Dr. Cullen said in a remarkably appealing voice, **

**"how are you feeling?"**

**"I'm fine," I said, for the last time, I hoped.**

"For the day."

"Carlisle!" Whined Bella.

"Sorry, but you have visited me so often this summer it has to be some sort of record."

**He walked to the light board on the wall over my head, and turned it on.**

**"Your X-rays look good," he said. "Does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard."**

"And there goes my excuse."

**"Its fine," I repeated with a sigh, throwing a quick scowl toward Edward.**

"You are really pissed at Eddie."

**The doctor's cool fingers probed lightly along my skull. He noticed when I winced.**

**"Tender?" he asked.**

**"Not really." I'd had worse.**

"Somehow I don't doubt that."

**I heard a chuckle, and looked over to see Edward's patronizing smile. My eyes narrowed.**

**"Well, your father is in the waiting room — you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all."**

**"Can't I go back to school?" I asked, imagining Charlie trying to be attentive.**

**"Maybe you should take it easy today."**

**I glanced at Edward. "Does he get to go to school?"**

**"Someone has to spread the good news that we survived," Edward said smugly.**

**"Actually," Dr. Cullen corrected, "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room." **

"Thanks for that."

**"Oh no," I moaned, covering my face with my hands.**

**Dr. Cullen raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to stay?"**

**"No, no!" I insisted, throwing my legs over the side of the bed and hopping down quickly. **

**Too quickly — I staggered, and Dr. Cullen caught me. He looked concerned.**

**"I'm fine," I assured him again. No need to tell him my balance problems had anything to do with hitting my head.**

"I know it now."

**"Take some Tylenol for the pain," he suggested as he steadied me.**

**"It doesn't hurt that bad," I insisted.**

**"It sounds like you were extremely lucky," Dr. Cullen said, smiling as he signed my chart with a flourish.**

**"Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me," I amended with a hard glance at the subject of my statement.**

**"Oh, well, yes," Dr. Cullen agreed, suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him.**

**Then he looked away, at Tyler, and walked to the next bed. My intuition flickered; the doctor was in on it.**

"Oh yes, I'm in on it." Said Carlisle sarcastically.

"Of course, It was kind of your idea."

**"I'm afraid that you'll have to stay with us just a little bit longer," he said to Tyler, and began checking his cuts.**

**As soon as the doctor's back was turned, I moved to Edward's side.**

**"Can I talk to you for a minute?" I hissed under my breath. He took a step back from me, his jaw suddenly clenched.**

"Good luck, Edward" Alice smiled at him.

**"Your father is waiting for you," he said through his teeth.**

"Like that is going to stop her." Snorted everyone that know her.

**I glanced at Dr. Cullen and Tyler.**

**"I'd like to speak with you alone, if you don't mind," I pressed.**

**He glared, and then turned his back and strode down the long room. I nearly had to run to keep up. As soon as we turned the corner into a short hallway, he spun around to face me.**

**"What do you want?" he asked, sounding annoyed. His eyes were cold.**

"Edward Cullen don't you have manners?" Esme said.

**His unfriendliness intimidated me. My words came out with less severity than I'd intended. "You owe me an explanation," I reminded him.**

**"I saved your life — I don't owe you anything."**

**I flinched back from the resentment in his voice. "You promised."**

**"Bella, you hit your head, you don't know what you're talking about." His tone was cutting.**

**My temper flared now, and I glared defiantly at him. "There's nothing wrong with my head."**

**He glared back. "What do you want from me, Bella?"**

"**I want to know the truth," I said. "I want to know why I'm lying for you."**

**"**I am sorry, but I couldn't tell you."

"I warn you Edwinna, stop saying sorry."

"Stop calling me Edwinna."

"Not until you can go a whole book without saying sorry."

"That is impossible and ridiculous."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is."

"Afraid you can't do it?"

"Fine, I will stop saying sorry."

"You did just say sorry!

"I'm sorry, I will stop saying sorry."

"Your right, it's impossible to stop saying sorry to you."

**"What do you think happened?" he snapped.**

**It came out in a rush.**

**"All I know is that you weren't anywhere near me —Tyler didn't see you, either, so don't tell me I hit my head too hard. That van was going to crush us both — and it didn't, and your hands left dents in the side of it — and you left a dent in the other car, and you're not hurt at all — and the van should have smashed my legs, but you were holding it up…" I could hear how crazy it sounded, and I couldn't continue. I was so mad I could feel the tears coming; I tried to force them back by grinding my teeth together.**

**He was staring at me incredulously. But his face was tense, defensive.**

"I couldn't believe you noticed that much."

"You should have known. She has already noticed so much and said it to your face."

"I'm sorry that I didn't know that she noticed that much."

"Ha, didn't I say that you couldn't stop saying sorry for a whole book. You didn't even manage five minutes." Laughed Bella.

"I'm starting to think that Bella is smarter that you Edward. If you ask me she is smarter but you have an advantage over her.

"I will came up with a riddle that you can't figure out." Promised Bella.

"My money is on Bella." Said Rose, Alice, Jasper and Emmett.

"Thanks Rose, Ali, Jazzy, Em." Bella smiled at them.

"Exactly how much have I missed out on?" Carlisle asked in shock.

"A lot, apparently. Bella, Alice and Rosalie best friends now. Bella scared Edward and he is afraid of her apparently. And that's all I know." Esme said smiling.

**"You think I lifted a van off you?" His tone questioned my sanity, but it only made me more suspicious. It was like a perfectly delivered line by a skilled actor.**

**I merely nodded once, jaw tight.**

**"Nobody will believe that, you know." His voice held an edge of derision now.**

"You know that you just admitted that you did stop the van." Smirked Bella and Edwards mouth fall open.

"OMG, Bella you rock." Emmett said

**"I'm not going to tell anybody." I said each word slowly, carefully controlling my anger.**

**Surprise flitted across his face. **

"Of course it did, I thought you would run away and shout it out loud."

**"Then why does it matter?"**

**"It matters to me," I insisted. "I don't like to lie — so there'd better be a good reason why I'm doing it."**

**"Can't you just thank me and get over it?"**

**"Thank you." I waited, fuming and expectant.**

**"You're not going to let it go, are you?"**

**"No."**

**"In that case… I hope you enjoy disappointment."**

"That's not going to stop her." Rosalie said indignantly.

"Yeah, I would guess you figured it out soon." Asked Carlisle.

"I think I figured it out in about four five chapters but it's not until I go to Port Angeles that Edward tells me.

**We scowled at each other in silence. I was the first to speak, trying to keep myself focused. I was in danger of being distracted by his livid, glorious face. It was like trying to stare down a destroying angel.**

**"Why did you even bother?" I asked frigidly.**

**He paused, and for a brief moment his stunning face was unexpectedly vulnerable.**

**"I don't know," he whispered.**

"You are so stupid." Alice sighed.

**And then he turned his back on me and walked away.**

**I was so angry, it took me a few minutes until I could move. When I could walk, I made my way slowly to the exit at the end of the hallway.**

**The waiting room was more unpleasant than I'd feared. It seemed like every face I knew in Forks was there, staring at me. Charlie rushed to my side; I put up my hands.**

**"There's nothing wrong with me," I assured him sullenly. I was still aggravated, not in the mood for chitchat.**

**"What did the doctor say?"**

**"Dr. Cullen saw me, and he said I was fine and I could go home." I sighed. Mike and Jessica and Eric were all there, beginning to converge on us. "Let's go," I urged. **

**Charlie put one arm behind my back, not quite touching me, and led me to the glass doors of the exit. I waved sheepishly at my friends, hoping to convey that they didn't need to worry anymore. It was a huge relief— the first time I'd ever felt that way — to get into the cruiser.**

**We drove in silence. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I barely knew Charlie was there. I was positive that Edward's defensive behavior in the hall was a confirmation of the bizarre things I still could hardly believe I'd witnessed.**

**When we got to the house, Charlie finally spoke.**

**"Um… you'll need to call Renée." He hung his head, guilty.**

**I was appalled. "You told Mom!"**

**"Sorry."**

"Your mom deserves to know."

"I know, she just overreacts a lot."

**I slammed the cruiser's door a little harder than necessary on my way out.**

**My mom was in hysterics, of course. I had to tell her I felt fine at least thirty times before she would calm down. She begged me to come home — forgetting the fact that home was empty at the moment — but her pleas were easier to resist than I would have thought. I was consumed by the mystery Edward presented. And more than a little obsessed by Edward himself. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I wasn't as eager to escape Forks as I should be, as any normal, sane person would be.**

**I decided I might as well go to bed early that night. Charlie continued to watch me anxiously, and it was getting on my nerves. I stopped on my way to grab three Tylenol from the bathroom. They did help, and, as the pain eased, I drifted to sleep.**

"Well, I'm happy that you listened to me."

**That was the first night I dreamed of Edward Cullen.**

"Aww, that is sooooo cute." Cooed a lot of the girls.

"It's time for lunch now. " Said the principal and everyone went to the cafeteria.


	5. Lunch and talking

Thanks to everyone that likes my story.

Thanks to: 9 tailed vixen who gave me 4 riddles and Twifan1 who gave me one riddle and will get a chapter each dedicated them, and also thanks for the kind words about my story.

This chapter is dedicated to Twifan1

* * *

For the first time ever Bella sat with all the Cullen's at school during lunch. Otherwise she would just sit with Edward and sometimes Alice.

For Bella, it felt quite strange to sit with everyone, even if didn't mean that she wasn't happy. To make it even more strange they also sat together with Carlisle and Esme. Bella was the only one who ate something.

"So Bella, what did you do to scare Edward?" Asked Carlisle interested.

"Oh, you're going to love this." Chuckled Emmett and Jasper, Alice and Rosalie started too chuckle to.

"Well, we had a fight and I became really angry at Edward because he didn't listen to me and…" By the end of her explanation laughed everyone except Edward and his siblings would have cried if they could.

"Of anything that you could have been afraid of…" Laughed Carlisle.

"You didn't see her, she was really scary, you would have been scared too."

"Hey, didn't you say you had recorded it?" Asked Rosalie.

"Yes, it was the first time he tried to cook and I wanted to record it. I grabbed my camcorder and started taping it. Then we started to fight and now everything is on the tape."

"I must see that tape."

"No, you will not." Edward said loudly.

"Yes, we will. Just try to stop us." Chorused his siblings.

"Bella, you will not give them that tape."

"Okay, a question. Can I put it on the internet if I take away a few things, that way they don't need the tape."

Carlisle and Esme followed the exchange with amusement but they hoped that Emmett wouldn't get his hands on Bella. They had a feeling that she could out prank everyone easily. Maybe even Emmett himself. That is the last thing they needed was a prank war between Emmett, Bella and Jasper.

"I'm worried." Said Bella after they had stopped bickering.

"About what sweetie?" Asked Esme.

"Well, this book is about me and all my thoughts and I was really curious about you in the beginning and if I have it right. Which I think I have, then your secret will be out." Said she with a serious look on her face and everyone gasped, they hadn't thought about that.

"You're right Bella, this is pretty serious. I can only imagine how they will react." Said Carlisle worried.

This wasn't going to be easy, not many humans would be as accepting as Bella was. Bella on the other hand started to figure out a plan.

"Hmm, leave this to me. When Edward tells me the truth, don't say anything and let me handle the talking. It isn't going to be straight forward like bang in your face we are vampires. More like they get small clues all the time so they can figure everything out by themselves."

"Are you sure Bella." Asked Rose tense.

"I'm pretty sure, and I have a feeling that some won't take it so bad. I mean it isn't a big deal. You're just a little older then most people and have a different diet."

"Most humans don't see it that way." Chuckled Jasper.

"Yeah, a little older." Snorted Alice and Bella shrugged.

"But let me do the talking and I'm sure a few won't freak out. I'm pretty sure that Angela and Ben won't take it so bad. If I can at least get them to listen they can help me get the others listen." Mumbled Bella and started to work on a plan.

"Thanks for doing this for us, darlin." Said Jasper and Bella looked at him surprised.

"Why wouldn't I? You are all so kind to me and this is the least I can do. I see you all like family. Anyone would do it."

"Actually, it isn't many who would do that, some would pretend like they didn't know."

"That's just stupid. But I think I know how I will explain to them, but you must do one thing for it to work."

"Anything Bella, what do you need." Asked all of them at the same time.

"I don't react like most people.

"I think we know that." Snorted Edward.

And there will probably be a lot of comments most people don't react the way I do. If you need to say anything say stuff like.. most humans don't do that. Understood?"

"Yeah, but why?"

"Because they will get it earlier that you aren't humans and have more time to accept it and that way when the book told them the truth they won't react as much as they would if they didn't know anything."

"That is… pretty smart." Smiled Edward and kissed her.

"Umm, thanks." She blushed and Emmett started to laugh.

"Are you sure that Angela and Ben will help you?"

"Pretty much. Angela is pretty much like me, except that she knows and Ben is a cool guy who listens before he acts and will do anything that Angela does."

"So hypothetically, if she would start to hang out with us and they know the truth, would Ben do it to?" Asked Edward, he didn't know them very well.

"Yes, trust me. I will get everyone to listen to me."

"Okay, seems like we have a plan. And lunch is over."

They dumped there trays and hurried back to the gym. Bella spotted Angela walking into the restroom and sneaked in after her without anyone of the Cullen's seeing. They went on without noticing that she was missing.

"Hi Angela." Smiled Bella.

"Hi, Bella, must be pretty tough to read your thoughts aloud to the whole school." She grimaced.

"Pretty much, but I'm more worried that everyone will find out secrets about the Cullen's."

"Of course, I don't get why we're doing this. Everyone needs to have their own secrets."

"Tell me about it, but I need to ask you for a favor."

"What is it."

"You know how the Cullen's are so mysterious and not many people like to be too close to them."

"Of course, it's like something tells you to be careful around them. It was the same for me in the beginning but honestly I don't feel that way anymore, not as much anyway."

"Well, last year so figured I out why humans feel that way. I have never felt that way. The book will tell why humans feel that way and I need to ask you to not freak out and help me explain to the others."

"Explain what? And what do you mean by why humans feel that? You talk like they aren't humans."

"You will understand when the time in the books come."

"Of course, I will help you, but why do you talk about them like they aren't humans?"

"I can't say, it isn't my secret. Please, I have just got everyone to like me and I don't want to make anyone angry. I'm sure their secret is in the book. It has too big a role to not mention. But please do this for me."

"On one condition. We hang out more often."

"I would love that, come on. They must be waiting for us. Who do you sit with?" Said Bella as they walked to the gym.

"With Ben. We started to date this summer."

"I was right, ha, Edward owes me 20. Why don't you try to find a place near us?"

"It's a good idea."

Ben waited for Angela at the door and they sat down 2 lines diagonally behind the Cullen's.

"What took you so long?" Asked Rose when Bella sat down.

"I can't believe you managed to sneak away without us noticing it again. I can understand the last time better now. But now all of us are here. It's getting ridiculous." Snorted Alice.

"I talked to Angela, she is on the plan and will help. She doesn't know everything, just that everyone will find out your secret and she will try to not freak out and help me explain. She is a little suspicious and she has started to think you aren't humans."

"You did really think of everything."

"Yep, but I will probably have to talk to her again after I figure it out but no one can confirm it. And by the way, she doesn't have that feeling that she should be afraid for you. I told you she is like me."

"Unbelievable, two girls who don't react like normal humans should and they are friends." Edward shook his head.

"So, who wants to read now?" Asked principal Greene.

"I do it." Said Jena and he gave her the book.


	6. Invitations

This chapter is declared to 9 tailed vixen

* * *

**"Invitations,"** read Jena

"You went to a party with out inviting us?" Pouted Emmett.

"No, I was invited but I said no."

**In my dream it was very dark, and what dim light there was seemed to be radiating from Edward's skin. I couldn't see his face, just his back as he walked away from me, leaving me in the blackness. No matter how fast I ran, I couldn't catch up to him; no matter how loud I called, he never turned.**

"Foreshadow of how you will treat me." Thought Bella.

**Troubled, I woke in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep again for what seemed like a very long time. After that, he was in my dreams nearly every night, but always on the periphery, never within reach.**

**The month that followed the accident was uneasy, tense, and, at first, embarrassing.**

"One of the worst months here, and will probably always be."

**To my dismay, I found myself the center of attention for the rest of that week. Tyler Crowley was impossible, following me around, obsessed with making amends to me somehow. I tried to convince him what I wanted more than anything else was for him to forget all about it — especially since nothing had actually happened to me — but he remained insistent.**

"I bet that you liked that." Laughed Matthew, a friend of Ben's.

**He followed me between classes and sat at our now-crowded lunch table. Mike and Eric were even less friendly toward him than they were to each other, which made me worry that I'd, gained another unwelcome fan.**

"Why me? I hated that. I don't get it. Why would they insist on helping me with everything." Mumbled Bella.

"Because they think they would get your attention then." Smirked Rose and Bella shuddered. She would never date one of them.

"You're like a boy magnet." Said Emmett.

"And that's a good thing how?"

"It isn't, but that is why you have me and Emmett, to scare every boy away from you. I warn you right here, stay away from Bella, or you will have to deal with us." Threatened Jasper and every boy in the room nodded afraid while the girls laughed at them.

"Come on Jasper, I'm sure I can take care of myself, if I can handle Edward I think I can handle them. It wouldn't be fun if you scared them to death." Laughed Bella and Edward kissed her hair.

**No one seemed concerned about Edward, though I explained over and over that he was the hero — how he had pulled me out of the way and had nearly been crushed, too. I tried to be convincing. Jessica, Mike, Eric, and everyone else always commented that they hadn't even seen him there till the van was pulled away.**

"I didn't know you tried to protect us." Said Rose confused.

"I knew something was different about you but it wasn't my secret to tell."

All who didn't have an idea of what they meant tried to figure out the big secret, of course was no one near the truth.

**I wondered to myself why no one else had seen him standing so far away, before he was suddenly, impossibly saving my life.**

"Because not one of us notices as much as you have." Jena interjected before she continued to read.

**With chagrin, I realized the probable cause — no one else was as aware of Edward as I always was. No one else watched him the way I did. How pitiful.**

**Edward was never surrounded by crowds of curious bystanders eager for his firsthand account. People avoided him as usual. The Cullen's and the Hales sat at the same table as always, not eating, talking only among themselves. None of them, especially Edward, glanced my way anymore.**

"Well we did, but you did never notice." Confessed Edward.

**When he sat next to me in class, as far from me as the table would allow, he seemed totally unaware of my presence. **

**Only now and then, when his fists would suddenly ball up — skin stretched even whiter over the bones — did I wonder if he wasn't quite as oblivious as he appeared.**

**He wished he hadn't pulled me from the path of Tyler's van — there was no other conclusion I could come to.**

"What, how can you think that, it is absurd." Said Edward clearly upset.

"Well, you did ignore her, what other conclusion would she get?" Asked Carlisle.

He wasn't aware of that Edward had ignored Bella after the accident, and he didn't like it. Bella was like a daughter to him and he didn't like when she was upset.

**I wanted very much to talk to him, and the day after the accident I tried. The last time I'd seen him, outside the ER, we'd both been so furious. I still was angry that he wouldn't trust me with the truth, even though I was keeping my part of the bargain flawlessly. But he had in fact saved my life, no matter how he'd done it. And, overnight, the heat of my anger faded into awed gratitude.**

**He was already seated when I got to Biology, looking straight ahead. I sat down, expecting him to turn toward me. He showed no sign that he realized I was there.**

**"Hello, Edward," I said pleasantly, to show him I was going to behave myself.**

**He turned his head a fraction toward me without meeting my gaze, nodded once, and then looked the other way.**

"You're an idiot. She tried to talk to you even if she thought that you hated her and wished that you haven't saved her. Now she will think that even more." His sisters glared at him.

"Well I'm sorry that I don't know what she thinks."

"We know, and we love it, if we need to talk about something and we don't want you to find out can we just tell Bella and you will never know if she doesn't tell you."

"Is it just me, or do they talk like Edward can read peoples mind?" Asked Ben to his girlfriend.

"I don't know but I wonder…" Mused Angela and thought about what Bella had told her.

**And that was the last contact I'd had with him, though he was there, a foot away from me, every day. I watched him sometimes, unable to stop myself— from a distance, though, in the cafeteria or parking lot. I watched as his golden eyes grew perceptibly darker day by day. **

"Unbelievable, she doesn't miss anything we do." Carlisle shake his head.

**But in class I gave no more notice that he existed than he showed toward me. I was miserable. And the dreams continued.**

**Despite my outright lies, the tenor of my e-mails alerted Renée to my depression, and she called a few times, worried. I tried to convince her it was just the weather that had me down.**

"That won't fool her, a mother always knows when something is wrong."

"I suppose, I haven't had to think about it that much." Bella answered Esme.

"It would have been fun if she told her mom the truth. That she was in love with a boy who saved her life and now he just ignores her. It would have been a little funny." Said a girl next to Jessica.

**Mike, at least, was pleased by the obvious coolness between me and my lab partner. **

"More than pleased, hate him." Mumbled Edward.

**I could see he'd been worried that Edward's daring rescue might have impressed me, and he was relieved that it seemed to have the opposite effect. He grew more confident, sitting on the edge of my table to talk before Biology class started, ignoring Edward as completely as he ignored us.**

**The snow washed away for good after that one dangerously icy day. Mike was disappointed he'd never gotten to stage his snowball fight, but pleased that the beach trip would soon be possible. The rain continued heavily, though, and the weeks passed.**

**Jessica made me aware of another event looming on the horizon — she called the first Tuesday of March to ask my permission to invite Mike to the girls' choice spring dance in two weeks.**

"NO, not this again."

"I sense something that will be funny coming up."

**"Are you sure you don't mind… you weren't planning to ask him?" she persisted when I told her I didn't mind in the least.**

**"No, Jess, I'm not going," I assured her. Dancing was glaringly outside my range of abilities.**

Anyone who had seen her in the gym or know of her weakness laughed out loud. Rose took pity on her.

"Well, you weren't so bad on the prom last year. You looked really good on the dance floor. All you need is more self-confidence and a few lessons in dance and you will be really good at it." Rose said

"Really?" asked Bella.

"Of course, Alice and I will teach you. We have trained our dance moves for a really long time." Rose, Bella and Alice burst out laughing and the rest of the school looked at them like they were stupid.

"You will understand later." Explained Esme with a smile, but she was worried.

**"It will be really fun." Her attempt to convince me was halfhearted. I suspected that Jessica enjoyed my inexplicable popularity more than my actual company.**

**"You have fun with Mike," I encouraged.**

**The next day, I was surprised that Jessica wasn't her usual gushing self in Trig and Spanish. **

**She was silent as she walked by my side between classes, and I was afraid to ask her why. If Mike had turned her down, I was the last person she would want to tell.**

**My fears were strengthened during lunch when Jessica sat as far from Mike as possible, chatting animatedly with Eric. Mike was unusually quiet.**

**Mike was still quiet as he walked me to class, the uncomfortable look on his face a bad sign. But he didn't broach the subject until I was in my seat and he was perched on my desk. As always, I was electrically aware of Edward sitting close enough to touch, as distant as if he were merely an invention of my imagination.**

**"So," Mike said, looking at the floor, "Jessica asked me to the spring dance."**

**"That's great." I made my voice bright and enthusiastic. "You'll have a lot of fun with Jessica."**

"Ouch, Burn." Laughed Rose and Alice.

"You have spent too much time with Emmett."

"I liked the way you said it." Smirked Edward.

**"Well…" He floundered as he examined my smile, clearly not happy with my response. "I told her I had to think about it."**

"This boy is really stupid." Rosalie rolled her eyes.

**"Why would you do that?" I let disapproval color my tone, though I was relieved he hadn't given her an absolute no.**

**His face was bright red as he looked down again. Pity shook my resolve.**

"Don't, he doesn't deserve it, you wouldn't believe what he thinks about you."

**"I was wondering if… well, if you might be planning to ask me."**

**I paused for a moment, hating the wave of guilt that swept through me. But I saw, from the corner of my eye, Edward's head tilt reflexively in my direction.**

"Of course, he was afraid that you would say yes."

"Mike isn't my type, Angela, and I would only say yes to Edward."

**"Mike, I think you should tell her yes," I said.**

**"Did you already ask someone?" Did Edward notice how Mike's eyes flickered in his direction?**

"Yep I notice."

**"No," I assured him. "I'm not going to the dance at all."**

**"Why not?" Mike demanded.**

**I didn't want to get into the safety hazards that dancing presented, so I quickly made new plans.**

**"I'm going to Seattle that Saturday," I explained. **

**I needed to get out of town anyway — it was suddenly the perfect time to go.**

**"Can't you go some other weekend?"**

"That is rude, learn to treat a lady right." Said Alice and the most seemed to agree.

**"Sorry, no," I said. "So you shouldn't make Jess wait any longer — it's rude."**

"Yes it is."

**"Yeah, you're right," he mumbled, and turned, dejected, to walk back to his seat. I closed my eyes and pressed my fingers to my temples, trying to push the guilt and sympathy out of my head. **

"You are to forgiving."

**Mr. Banner began talking. I sighed and opened my eyes. And Edward was staring at me curiously, that same, familiar edge of frustration even more distinct now in his black eyes.**

**I stared back, surprised, expecting him to look quickly away. But instead he continued to gaze with probing intensity into my eyes. There was no question of me looking away.**

**My hands started to shake.**

**"Mr. Cullen?" the teacher called, seeking the answer to a question that I hadn't heard.**

**"The Krebs Cycle," Edward answered, seeming reluctant as he turned to look at Mr. Banner.**

"Cheater." Said Emmett.

"Excuse me, but how could your brother cheat?"

"Because…"

"It will come up later, and he is very good in the subject. Em is just angry because he lost a contest against Edward so he will try to get him in trouble." Lied Bella and the Cullen's looked at her surprised.

"Since when can you lie?" Asked Edward.

"Well, it will come up later. I guess you're good at the subject because that you have had it a couple of times and it does seem like a thing Emmett could do if he lost a contest."

"I think Bella fools anyone soon. I mean she could get away from us and she could not know much about us then, and she still managed too. She succeeded again earlier today and now she lied to the whole school. I love it." Said Alice and bounced.

**I looked down at my book as soon as his eyes released me, trying to find my place.**

**Cowardly as ever, I shifted my hair over my right shoulder to hide my face. I couldn't believe the rush of emotion pulsing through me — just because he'd happened to look at me for the first time in half-dozen weeks. I couldn't allow him to have this level of influence over me. It was pathetic. More than pathetic, it was unhealthy.**

"Good, you need to show that you are the boss."

**I tried very hard not to be aware of him for the rest of the hour, and, since that was impossible, at least not to let him know that I was aware of him. **

**When the bell rang at last, I turned my back to him to gather my things, expecting him to leave immediately as usual.**

**"Bella?" His voice shouldn't have been so familiar to me, as if I'd known the sound of it all my life rather than for just a few short weeks.**

"The depth of yours feelings is amazing. It's like you have known each other for a life time and not just a few weeks." Said Carlisle amazed.

**I turned slowly, unwillingly. I didn't want to feel what I knew I would feel when I looked at his too-perfect face. My expression was wary when I finally turned to him; his expression was unreadable. He didn't say anything.**

**"What? Are you speaking to me again?" I finally asked an unintentional note of petulance in my voice.**

**His lips twitched, fighting a smile. "No, not really," he admitted. **

"I don't get how you think. You are lucky that Bella doesn't care about your mood swings."

**I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly through my nose, aware that I was gritting my teeth. He waited.**

**"Then what do you want, Edward?" I asked, keeping my eyes closed; it was easier to talk to him coherently that way.**

"Do you piss off Bella very often?" Asked a student.

**"I'm sorry." He sounded sincere. "I'm being very rude, I know. But it's better this way, really."**

**I opened my eyes. His face was very serious.**

**"I don't know what you mean," I said, my voice guarded.**

**"It's better if we're not friends," he explained. "Trust me."**

**My eyes narrowed. I'd heard that before.**

"You're in deep trouble, and you should never make a girl or women angry." Said Jasper seriously.

**"It's too bad you didn't figure that out earlier," I hissed through my teeth.**

**"You could have saved yourself all this regret."**

**"Regret?" The word, and my tone, obviously caught him off guard.**

**"Regret for what?"**

**"For not just letting that stupid van squish me."**

**He was astonished. He stared at me in disbelief.**

**When he finally spoke, he almost sounded mad. "You think I regret saving your life?"**

**"I know you do," I snapped.**

**"You don't know anything." He was definitely mad.**

**I turned my head sharply away from him, clenching my jaw against all the wild accusations I wanted to hurl at him. I gathered my books together, then stood and walked to the door. I meant to sweep dramatically out of the room, but of course I caught the toe of my boot on the door jamb and dropped my books. **

Everyone chuckled.

**I stood there for a moment, thinking about leaving them. Then I sighed and bent to pick them up. He was there; he'd already stacked them into a pile. He handed them to me, his face hard.**

**"Thank you," I said icily.**

**His eyes narrowed.**

**"You're welcome," he retorted.**

**I straightened up swiftly, turned away from him again, and stalked off to Gym without looking back.**

**Gym was brutal. We'd moved on to basketball. My team never passed me the ball, so that was good, but I fell down a lot. Sometimes I took people with me. **

"Why, why couldn't we have had gym together?" Whined Emmett.

**Today I was worse than usual because my head was so filled with Edward. I tried to concentrate on my feet, but he kept creeping back into my thoughts just when I really needed my balance.**

"Don't Edward, it's my brain and you can't say sorry for that."

"How can she know? It's like she read my mind."

"You don't like it I guess. So stay out of ours." Laughed Alice.

**It was a relief, as always, to leave. I almost ran to the truck; there were just so many people I wanted to avoid. The truck had suffered only minimal damage in the accident. I'd had to replace the taillights, and if I'd had a real paint job, I would have touched that up. Tyler's parents had to sell their van for parts.**

**I almost had a stroke when I rounded the corner and saw a tall, dark figure leaning against the side of my truck. Then I realized it was just Eric. I started walking again.**

**"Hey, Eric," I called.**

**"Hi, Bella."**

**"What's up?" I said as I was unlocking the door. I wasn't paying attention to the uncomfortable edge in his voice, so his next words took me by surprise.**

**"Uh, I was just wondering… if you would go to the spring dance with me." His voice broke on the last word.**

"Wow, it wasn't your day."

"Maybe not, but it wasn't so bad, he accepted it and left me alone after that. Thanks for that by the way Eric, I really don't like attention."

"I think we have learned that now." He laughed.

**"I thought it was girls' choice," I said, **

**Too startled to be diplomatic.**

**"Well, yeah," he admitted, shamefaced.**

**I recovered my composure and tried to make my smile warm. "Thank you for asking me, but I'm going to be in Seattle that day."**

**"Oh," he said. "Well, maybe next time."**

**"Sure," I agreed, and then bit my lip. I wouldn't want him to take that too literally.**

"I didn't, you liked someone else nothing I could do. Beside I think it was better this way, for both of us." He smiled at his girlfriend Samantha.

**He slouched off, back toward the school. I heard a low chuckle.**

**Edward was walking past the front of my truck, looking straight forward, his lips pressed together. **

**I yanked the door open and jumped inside, slamming it loudly behind me. I revved the engine deafeningly and reversed out into the aisle. Edward was in his car already, two spaces down, sliding out smoothly in front of me, cutting me off. He stopped there — to wait for his family;**

"That was rude, son." Esme shake her head disapproving.

"Just wait until you see why he did it." Grumbled Bella and Carlisle tried to not chuckle.

**I could see the four of them walking this way, but still by the cafeteria. I considered taking out the rear of his shiny Volvo,**

**But there were too many witnesses. **

"You did what!" Asked Edward horrified and his face seemed whiter than usual.

"That is so awesome, you should have done it." Boomed his siblings.

**I looked in my rearview mirror. A line was beginning to form. Directly behind me, Tyler Crowley was in his recently acquired used Sentra, waving. I was too aggravated to acknowledge him.**

**While I was sitting there, looking everywhere but at the car in front of me, I heard a knock on my passenger side window. I looked over; it was Tyler. I glanced back in my rearview mirror, confused. His car was still running, the door left open. I leaned across the cab to crank the window down. It was stiff. I got it halfway down, and then gave up.**

"You should get a new car."

"I can't afford that, and beside it is a present from Charlie."

**"I'm sorry, Tyler, I'm stuck behind Cullen." I was annoyed — obviously the holdup wasn't my fault.**

"And now you have done it. Never make a women angry at you, it never ends well." Said Carlisle and Edward gulped.

**"Oh, I know — I just wanted to ask you something while we're trapped here." He grinned.**

**This could not be happening.**

**"Will you ask me to the spring dance?" he continued.**

"You knew he would ask that didn't you?" Asked Esme.

"I had a few hints, yes."

"Dude, you did it again, Bella looks really angry at you." Said Emmett and indeed, Bella glared at Edward and he gulped before he shifted away from her.

**"I'm not going to be in town, Tyler." My voice sounded a little sharp. I had to remember it wasn't his fault that Mike and Eric had already used up my quota of patience for the day.**

**"Yeah, Mike said that," he admitted.**

**"Then why —"**

**He shrugged. "I was hoping you were just letting him down easy."**

**Okay, it was completely his fault.**

"I take that back. It is clearly Edwards fault, if he hadn't stopped me I would have got home and Tyler would never asked me to the dance."

"I feel bad for… Na, I really don't, you deserved it." Jasper smirked at his brother.

"What nice siblings I have." Edward said

**"Sorry, Tyler," I said, working to hide my irritation. "I really am going out of town."**

**"That's cool. We still have prom."**

**And before I could respond, he was walking back to his car. I could feel the shock on my face. I looked forward to see Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper all sliding into the Volvo. In his rearview mirror, Edward's eyes were on me. He was unquestionably shaking with laughter, as if he'd heard every word Tyler had said.**

**My foot itched toward the gas pedal… one little bump wouldn't hurt any of them, just that glossy silver paint job. I revved the engine.**

"No, don't." Edwards face was white again and he seemed afraid.

"You really love your car, don't you."

"Of course he does."

"Well, you better not do anything like that again in this book or the other books for the matter, because you don't want anything happen to your car."

"You wouldn't. It isn't my fault if I do something in the other books."

"Well, you better pray that you do't do anything like that again."

"I blame this on you Rose."

"Why me, I haven't spend much time with her before today."

**But they were all in, and Edward was speeding away. I drove home slowly, carefully, muttering to myself the whole way.**

"Yep, she is pissed with you in the book too."

**When I got home, I decided to make chicken enchiladas for dinner. It was a long process, and it would keep me busy. While I was simmering the onions and chilies, the phone rang. I was almost afraid to answer it, but it might be Charlie or my mom. **

**It was Jessica, and she was jubilant; Mike had caught her after school to accept her invitation. **

"I can't believe you used me like a plan B." Whispered Jessica angry to Mike.

**I celebrated with her briefly while I stirred. She had to go; she wanted to call Angela and Lauren to tell them. I suggested — with casual innocence — that maybe Angela, the shy girl who had Biology with me, could ask Eric. And Lauren, a standoffish girl who had always ignored me at the lunch table, could ask Tyler; I'd heard he was still available. **

"That was really smart. That will keep them busy a while."

**Jess thought that was a great idea. Now that she was sure of Mike, she actually sounded sincere when she said she wished I would go to the dance. I gave her my Seattle excuse.**

**After I hung up, I tried to concentrate on dinner — dicing the chicken especially; I didn't want to take another trip to the emergency room. But my head was spinning, trying to analyze every word Edward had spoken today. What did he mean; it was better if we weren't friends?**

**My stomach twisted as I realized what he must have meant. He must see how absorbed I was by him; he must not want to lead me on… so we couldn't even be friends… because he wasn't interested in me at all.**

"How can you notice so much but not notice that he likes you?"

"Well, I have never had a boyfriend before and he is really complicated." Defended Bella.

**Of course he wasn't interested in me, I thought angrily, my eyes stinging — a delayed reaction to the onions. I wasn't interesting. And he was. Interesting… and brilliant… and mysterious… and perfect… and beautiful… and possibly able to lift full-sized vans with one hand.**

"You make him sound like a freak with the last sentence." Rose said

"Never say that again. You're all that you said and more." Whispered Edward and kissed her, of course blushed Bella after that but most of the people smiled at them.

**Well, that was fine. I could leave him alone. I would leave him alone. I would get through my self-imposed sentence here in purgatory, and then hopefully some school in the Southwest, or possibly Hawaii, would offer me a scholarship. I focused my thoughts on sunny beaches and palm trees as I finished the enchiladas and put them in the oven.**

"I love Mexico." Whispered Jessica to Lauren.

**Charlie seemed suspicious when he came home and smelled the green peppers. I couldn't blame him — the closest edible Mexican food was probably in southern California. But he was a cop, even if just a small-town cop, so he was brave enough to take the first bite. He seemed to like it. It was fun to watch as he slowly began trusting me in the kitchen.**

**"Dad?" I asked when he was almost done.**

**"Yeah, Bella?"**

**"Um, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to Seattle for the day a week from Saturday… if that's okay?" I didn't want to ask permission — it set a bad precedent — but I felt rude, so I tacked it on at the end.**

"What would you do if he said no?"

"Well, I knew he would say yes and if he didn't I'm not sure, maybe ask Angela or Jessica if they could cover up for me and say that is was with them. I really needed to go."

**"Why?" He sounded surprised, as if he were unable to imagine something that Forks couldn't offer.**

"He has no idea, Forks doesn't have much."

**"Well, I wanted to get few books — the library here is pretty limited — and maybe look at some clothes." I had more money than I was used to having, since, thanks to Charlie, I hadn't had to pay for a car. Not that the truck didn't cost me quite a bit in the gas department.**

**"That truck probably doesn't get very good gas mileage," he said, echoing my thoughts.**

"I told you."

**"I know, I'll stop in Montesano and Olympia — and Tacoma if I have to."**

**"Are you going all by yourself?" he asked, and I couldn't tell if he was suspicious I had a secret boyfriend or just worried about car trouble.**

"You didn't have a secret boyfriend. Yet." Smirked Rose.

"Well, I'm not sure what he was worried about."

**"Yes."**

**"Seattle is a big city — you could get lost," he fretted.**

"Doesn't he know that Phoenix is much bigger?" Asked Matthew.

**"Dad, Phoenix is five times the size of Seattle — and I can read a map, don't worry about it."**

"He should be worried, you're a danger magnet, love." Said Edward.

"It isn't my fault, it's like trouble and danger searches for me."

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Asked Angela worried.

"Well, this summer was she in the hospital very often, I think I treated her once a week, not all in the hospital, but she is right, trouble and danger searches her." Said Carlisle and Bella blushed when everyone looked at her.

**"Do you want me to come with you?"**

"No!" Shouted the most of the girls.

**I tried to be crafty as I hid my horror.**

**"That's all right, Dad, I'll probably just be in dressing rooms all day — very boring."**

"Good, that will get him to stay away."

**"Oh, okay." The thought of sitting in women's clothing stores for any period of time immediately put him off.**

**"Thanks." I smiled at him.**

**"Will you be back in time for the dance?"**

**Grrr. Only in a town this small would a father know when the high school dances were.**

"Actually so think he knows because there is always someone who creates trouble and he must know so they can keep an eye on things." Explained Ben.

**"No — I don't dance, Dad." He, of all people, should understand that — I didn't get my balance problems from my mother.**

**He did understand. "Oh, that's right," he realized.**

**The next morning, when I pulled into the parking lot, I deliberately parked as far as possible from the silver Volvo. I didn't want to put myself in the path of too much temptation and end up owing him a new car. **

"Is it wrong of me to hope that Eddie does something wrong in the books so that Belly can destroy his car?" Asked Emmett out loud.

**Getting out of the cab, I fumbled with my key and it fell into a puddle at my feet. As I bent to get it, a white hand flashed out and grabbed it before I could.**

**I jerked upright. Edward Cullen was right next to me, leaning casually against my truck.**

**"How do you do that?" I asked in amazed irritation.**

**"Do what?" He held my key out as he spoke. As I reached for it, he dropped it into my palm.**

**"Appear out of thin air."**

**"Bella, it's not my fault if you are exceptionally unobservant." His voice was quiet as usual — velvet, muted.**

"So I'm unobservant?" Asked Bella.

"Err, I maybe was a little wrong."

"A little, she is very observant for being a human." Snorted Jasper.

**I scowled at his perfect face. His eyes were light again today, a deep, golden honey color. Then I had to look down, to reassemble my now-tangled thoughts.**

**"Why the traffic jam last night?" I demanded, still looking away. "I thought you were supposed to be pretending I don't exist, not irritating me to death."**

**"That was for Tyler's sake, not mine. I had to give him his chance." He snickered.**

**"You…" I gasped. I couldn't think of a bad enough word. It felt like the heat of my anger should physically burn him, but he only seemed more amused.**

"And you pissed her off again. You better hope that your car survive this meting." Said Jasper

"I'll let this slide, but I warn you." Bella said looking at Edward in the eyes.

**"And I'm not pretending you don't exist," he continued.**

**"So you are trying to irritate me to death? Since Tyler's van didn't do the job?"**

**Anger flashed in his tawny eyes. His lips pressed into a hard line, all signs of humor gone.**

**"Bella, you are utterly absurd," he said his low voice cold.**

"Hate your mood swings." Groaned Jasper.

**My palms tingled — I wanted so badly to hit something. I was surprised at myself. I was usually a nonviolent person. **

"You would have hit him?" Rose asked

"And broke my hand, no thanks." Bella said.

"I can do it for you now." Smirked Rose and Alice.

**I turned my back and started to walk away.**

**"Wait," he called. I kept walking, sloshing angrily through the rain. But he was next to me, easily keeping pace.**

**"I'm sorry, that was rude," he said as we walked. I ignored him. "I'm not saying it isn't true," he continued, "but it was rude to say it, anyway."**

**"Why won't you leave me alone?" I grumbled.**

**"I wanted to ask you something, but you sidetracked me," he chuckled. He seemed to have recovered his good humor.**

**"Do you have a multiple personality disorder?" I asked severely. **

All the Cullen's burst out laughing, except Edward.

"You have no idea."

**"You're doing it again."**

**I sighed." Fine then. What do you want to ask?"**

**"I was wondering if, a week from Saturday — you know, the day of the spring dance —"**

**"Are you trying to be funny?" I interrupted him, wheeling toward him. My face got drenched as I looked up at his expression.**

"I thought he was making fun of me." Thought Bella.

**His eyes were wickedly amused. "Will you please allow me to finish?"**

**I bit my lip and clasped my hands together, interlocking my fingers, so I couldn't do anything rash.**

**"I heard you say you were going to Seattle that day, and I was wondering if you wanted a ride."**

"Or you just ask her out."

**That was unexpected.**

**"What?" I wasn't sure what he was getting at.**

**"Do you want a ride to Seattle?"**

**"With who?" I asked, mystified.**

"Who do you think?"

**"Myself, obviously." He enunciated every syllable, as if he were talking to someone mentally handicapped.**

**I was still stunned. "Why?"**

"That was a good question." Said Carlisle. "The day before you didn't even talk to her and now did you ask her out for a date… sort of."

**"Well, I was planning to go to Seattle in the next few weeks, and, to be honest, I'm not sure if your truck can make it."**

"That was wrong move, never insult her truck." Said Esme with a smile.

"Well, it is a present from Charlie after all." Said Bella happy but Jasper was concerned, he could feel that she was sad right now.

**"My truck works just fine, thank you very much for your concern." I started to walk again, but I was too surprised to maintain the same level of anger.**

**"But can your truck make it there on one tank of gas?" He matched my pace again.**

**"I don't see how that is any of your business." Stupid, shiny Volvo owner.**

"That hurt." Pouted Edward. "What is your problem with my car?"

"What is your problem with my truck?" Asked Bella with I smile but she was still a little sad.

"You're my favorite sister." Said both Emmett and Jasper.

"Hey, what happened with "you're my favorite sister, that you said to me?" Asked Rose but she smiled.

"Err, you are my favorite twin sister, Bella is my favorite sister. Does that make sense?" Explained Jasper.

**"The wasting of finite resources is everyone's business."**

**"Honestly, Edward." I felt a thrill go through me as I said his name, and I hated it. "I can't keep up with you. I thought you didn't want to be my friend."**

**"I said it would be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't want to be."**

"Oh, thanks. That cleared everything up." Said Jasper

**"Oh, thanks, now that's all cleared up."Heavy sarcasm. **

"You think like Bella, Jasper." Alice said.

**I realized I had stopped walking again. We were under the shelter of the cafeteria roof now, so I could more easily look at is face. This certainly didn't help my clarity of thought.**

**"It would be more…prudent for you not to be my friend," he explained. **

**"But I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella."**

"Thank god for that." Exclaimed Alice. "Didn't I tell you that all the time. You should know not to bet against me."

**His eyes were gloriously intense as he uttered that last sentence, his voice smoldering. I couldn't remember how to breathe.**

"Stupid dazzling vampire." Mumbled Bella so low that no human could hear her and the Cullen's had to stifle there's laughs.

**"Will you go with me to Seattle?" he asked, still intense.**

**I couldn't speak yet, so I just nodded.**

**He smiled briefly, and then his face became serious.**

**"You really should stay away from me," he warned. "I'll see you in class."**

"Wow, you really must like to confuse Bella."

**He turned abruptly and walked back the way we'd come.**

"Well, that's the end of the chapter, who wants to read?" Asked Jena and closed the book.


	7. Blood type

Thanks to everyone that supports me and left me reviews. It makes my day much easier.

* * *

"Well, that's the end of the chapter, who wants to read?" Asked Jena and closed the book.

"I will do it." Offered Eric.

**Blood type**

Edward started to chuckle quiet, remembering what happened to Bella.

**I made my way to English in a daze. I didn't even realize when I first walked in that class had already started.**

**"Thank you for joining us, Miss Swan," Mr. Mason said in a disparaging tone.**

"Mr. Mason can really be rude sometimes." Said Angela but cowered her face when said teacher glared at her.

**I flushed and hurried to my seat.**

**It wasn't till class ended that I realized Mike wasn't sitting in his usual seat next to me. I felt a twinge of guilt. **

Mike smiled a little, Bella only rolled her eyes, seriously, couldn't he see that she was taken?

**But he and Eric both met me at the door as usual, so I figured I wasn't totally unforgiven. Mike seemed to become more himself as we walked, gaining enthusiasm as he talked about the weather report for this weekend. The rain was supposed to take a minor break, and so maybe his beach trip would be possible. I tried to sound eager, to make up for disappointing him yesterday.**

"You shouldn't, you didn't do anything wrong. When we are finished with you, you won't be so selfless and think about what everyone else thinks. You will still be selfless, but just a little less." Said Rose and smiled at Bella.

**It was hard; rain or no rain, it would still only be in the high forties, if we were lucky.**

**The rest of the morning passed in a blur. It was difficult to believe that I hadn't just imagined what Edward had said, and the way his eyes had looked. Maybe it was just a very convincing dream that I'd confused with reality. That seemed more probable than that I really appealed to him on any level.**

Edward groaned out loud, why couldn't she accept that she was beautiful?

"Oh honey, why do you think so low about yourself? You maybe don't look just like everybody else and are paler but it's that makes you, you. You're perfect just the way you are." Esme smiled kindly to me and Carlisle nodded beside her, and Bella smiled shakily back to them.

"They are right darlin', you're a wonderful young lady, even Rose said it, and she isn't one who gives out compliments. Trust me." Said Jasper and winked at her so she started to giggle and blush at the same time.

**So I was impatient and frightened as Jessica and I entered the cafeteria. I wanted to see his face, to see if he'd gone back to the cold, indifferent person I'd known for the last several weeks. Or if, by some miracle, I'd really heard what I thought I'd heard this morning. Jessica babbled on and on about her dance plans - Lauren and Angela had asked the other boys and they were all going together - completely unaware of my inattention.**

"Actually I did notice, but I could see that you had more important things in your head and you didn't want to talk." Said Angela.

"Thanks so much Angela, you are a goddess." Said Bella and they begun to laugh. Edward was happy. Maybe could he use Angela as a reason to make Bella stay human, not that she ever would be a vampire.

**Disappointment flooded through me as my eyes unerringly focused on his table. **

"Did you miss me?" Edward teased.

"Yeah. Of course"

**The other four were there, but he was absent. Had he gone home? I followed the still-babbling Jessica through the line, crushed. I'd lost my appetite - I bought nothing but a bottle of lemonade. **

"Bella, you need to eat." Said Esme worried.

"I know, I was just really nervous that day and trust me, it was a good thing I didn't eat anything, you will understand better later in the chapter."

**I just wanted to go sit down and sulk.**

"Well, know I now why you were so depressed." Said Jasper and shook his head.

"Excuse me, but how could you know if she was depressed." Asked Jessica.

"I'm really good at reading peoples feelings. Every feeling you have and I will be able to tell everyone witch feeling you have." Jasper smirked.

"That is my boyfriend. He can always tell how I fell and what mood I have." Alice smiled from Jasper lap.

"Jasper, Alice, no offense, but I can also tell your mood Alice, it isn't that hard. I think if you get to know someone really well you can almost always read there feelings. Of course Jasper the best in the world to read people feelings." Said Bella and everyone thought about that.

"How can you know Jasper is the best in the world. You couldn't have met everyone in the world that is good at reading feelings. It must be someone who is older and has more life experience that is best at reading feelings." Said Jena and all Cullen's and Bella burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, you will understand more later in the book, but some things you said is kind of ironic with us. But trust us, we know Jasper is the best and you will see in the book why." Explained Carlisle with a sly smile.

**"Edward Cullen is staring at you again," Jessica said, finally breaking through my abstraction with his name. "I wonder why he's sitting alone today."**

"Because he is in love with Bellaaa." Emmett sung out the A in Bella and said person started to blush furiously.

**My head snapped up. I followed her gaze to see Edward, smiling crookedly, staring at me from an empty table across the cafeteria from where he usually sat. Once he'd caught my eye, he raised one hand and motioned with his index finger for me to join him. As I stared in disbelief, he winked.**

**"Does he mean _you_?" Jessica asked with insulting astonishment in her voice.**

"This girl is really horrible." Thought Esme and Edward chuckled, she had no idea.

**"Maybe he needs help with his Biology homework," I muttered for her benefit. "Um, I'd better go see what he wants."**

"Yeah, he really needs help with his biology homework, it's really hard for him." Sniggered Emmett.

**I could feel her staring after me as I walked away.**

"Yeah. She did that. And her head was full of not so nice thoughts about you and me." Whispered Edward and Bella snorted, of course, she was jealous. Thought she.

**When I reached his table, I stood behind the chair across from him, unsure.**

**"Why don't you sit with me today?" he asked, smiling.**

"Finally you acted like a gentleman, that is the man I know you are." Esme smiled happily.

**I sat down automatically, watching him with caution. He was still smiling. It was hard to believe that someone so beautiful could be real. I was afraid that he might disappear in a sudden puff of smoke, and I would wake up. **

"That would be so cool, please mom, can we get a smoke machine. Just think about everything I could do with it, I can be a wizard and then comes smoke in 5 seconds, and then I will be gone just like that, I could be famous." Begged Emmett and bounced.

"We will think about it Emmett." Laughed both his parents.

**He seemed to be waiting for me to say something.**

**"This is different," I finally managed.**

**"Well…" He paused, and then the rest of the words followed in a rush.**

**"I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly."**

"Rose, Alice will you do me the honor?"

"Of course sis." They both smiled before the slapped him.

"Oww, what was that for?"

"You aren't going to hell, stop being ridiculous."

"But…"

"No but or I will kill your Volvo." Threatened she and to her joy so shut he up. "Good, now I have something over him."

**I waited for him to say something that made sense. The seconds ticked by.**

**"You know I don't have any idea what you mean," I eventually pointed out.**

"That was irritating, I couldn't get why you would say that."

**"I know." He smiled again, and then he changed the subject. "I think your friends are angry with me for stealing you."**

**"They'll survive." I could feel their stares boring into my back.**

"You really sound like you care." Said Ben with a grin.

"I know, you were my biggest concern." Answered she sarcastically.

**"I may not give you back, though," he said with a wicked glint in his eyes.**

**I gulped.**

"Were of afraid of me/him?" Asked Edward and Carlisle.

"Of course not."

**He laughed. "You look worried."**

**"No," I said, but, ridiculously, my voice broke. "Surprised, actually… what brought all this on?"**

**"I told you - I got tired of trying to stay away from you. So I'm giving up." He was still smiling, but his ocher eyes were serious.**

**"Giving up?" I repeated in confusion.**

"No kidding, he is very confusing in the books." Eric said.

"I had a reason." Assured Edward Eric.

"A really stupid reason." Interjected Bella. "And yes it was stupid, to me as well."

**"Yes - giving up trying to be good. I'm just going to do what I want now, and let the chips fall where they may." His smile faded as he explained, and a hard edge crept into his voice.**

"I can't believe it, I haven't talk to you much and you notice everything, I start to worry how much you notice now."

"Oh, I notice almost everything."

**"You lost me again."**

**The breathtaking crooked smile reappeared.**

"Breathtaking crooked smile? Oh god." Emmett looked at her with big eyes.

"You are really head over heels with him."

"And you don't think the same about Rose?" Asked Bella with a blush.

"Touché"

**"I always say too much when I'm talking to you - that's one of the problems."**

**"Don't worry - I don't understand any of it," I said wryly.**

Everybody chuckled.

**"I'm counting on that."**

**"So, in plain English, are we friends now?"**

"Yeah. Friends..." Alice giggled.

**"Friends…" he mused, dubious.**

"He wanted to be more." Giggled every girl that weren't jealous at Bella.

**"Or not," I muttered.**

**He grinned. "Well, we can try, I suppose. But I'm warning you now that I'm not a good friend for you."**

"Again, really. Edward you need to stop doing that, you can be happy that she didn't take your advice and started do avoid you."

"I would never do that."

**Behind his smile, the warning was real.**

**"You say that a lot," I noted, trying to ignore the sudden trembling in my stomach and keep my voice even.**

**"Yes, because you're not listening to me. I'm still waiting for you to believe it. If you're smart, you'll avoid me."**

"There you go again. Alice has right." Esme shook her head.

**"I think you've made your opinion on the subject of my intellect clear, too." My eyes narrowed. **

**He smiled apologetically.**

Everybody laughed again.

"You know, you called her stupid." Chuckled Carlisle and Edward froze when he saw Bella glare.

"Thanks dad, I really appreciate it." He said as he looked at Bella before Bella burst in to laugher.

"I can't believe you're afraid of me." Her whole body shock of laugher and she kissed him when he pouted. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

**"So, as long as I'm being… not smart, we'll try to be friends?" I struggled to sum up the confusing exchange.**

**"That sounds about right."**

**I looked down at my hands wrapped around the lemonade bottle, not sure what to do now.**

**"What are you thinking?" he asked curiously.**

"I thought he would have asked it earlier." Said Jasper serious.

"I thought it would be like the second thing he said." Continued Emmett.

"Does he ask Bella that question often?"

"He doesn't ask me that often, just like at least 9 times every day."

**I looked up into his deep gold eyes, became befuddled, and, as usual, blurted out the truth.**

**"I'm trying to figure out what you are."**

"Oh. That was unexpected." Carlisle leaned forward. His golden eyes sparkled with excitement.

"You really freaked out all of us with that sudden answer. I thought I would have a heart attack." Jasper said.

"Sorry." I smiled innocently. "I didn't even now you could have that."

"Don't be so sure, a very old friend has said that I can't have headache but I still have it every week because of my children." Said Carlisle.

No one bothered to ask this time why he couldn't have headache because they knew the only would say "You will see in the book"

**His jaw tightened, but he kept his smile in place with some effort.**

**"Are you having any luck with that?" he asked in an offhand tone.**

**"Not too much," I admitted.**

**He chuckled. "What are your theories?"**

**I blushed. I had been vacillating during the last month between Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker. There was no way I was going to own up to that.**

At this dropped Emmett to the floor laughing and took Rose with him because she was in his lap.

"Not too original." Jasper laughed.

"Hey, to me could you easily be super heroes." Said Bella and blushed furiously. "And I did find it out."

**"Won't you tell me?" he asked, tilting his head to one side with a shockingly tempting smile.**

Edward smirked.

**I shook my head. "Too embarrassing."**

**"That's _really _frustrating, you know," he complained.**

"And there made you a mistake." Chorused his siblings and a few others.

**"No," I disagreed quickly, my eyes narrowing, "I can't _imagine _why that would be frustrating at all - just because someone refuses to tell you what they're thinking, even if all the while they're making cryptic little remarks specifically designed to keep you up at night wondering what they could possibly mean… now, why would that be frustrating?"**

**He grimaced.**

**"Or better," I continued, the pent-up annoyance flowing freely now, **

**"say that person also did a wide range of bizarre things - from saving your life under impossible circumstances one day to treating you like a pariah the next, and he never explained any of that, either, even after he promised. That, also, would be _very _non-frustrating."**

"You did it again, bro. You really suck at this." Laughed Emmett. "Bells you have no idea of how much I wanted to laugh that day. It was awesome."

"Rule number one is to never ever piss off your woman." Said Jasper seriously.

Bella felt sad as Emmett called her Bells.

**"You've got a bit of a temper, don't you?"**

"Of course I have, you have seen it this summer."

**"I don't like double standards."**

**We stared at each other, unsmiling.**

**He glanced over my shoulder, and then, unexpectedly, he snickered.**

**"What?"**

**"Your boyfriend seems to think I'm being unpleasant to you - he's debating whether or not to come break up our fight." He snickered again.**

**"I don't know who you're talking about," I said frostily. "But I'm sure you're wrong, anyway."**

**"I'm not. I told you, most people are easy to read."**

"Stupid brother who can't keep his mouth shut." Grumbled Rose.

**"Except me, of course."**

**"Yes. Except for you." His mood shifted suddenly; his eyes turned brooding. "I wonder why that is."**

"Very good question." Carlisle murmured.

**I had to look away from the intensity of his stare. I concentrated on unscrewing the lid of my lemonade. I took a swig, staring at the table without seeing it.**

**"Aren't you hungry?" he asked, distracted.**

**"No." I didn't feel like mentioning that my stomach was already full - of butterflies.**

"How romantic." Angela sighed.

**"You?" I looked at the empty table in front of him.**

"Yes, Edward. Weren't you hungry?" Emmett teased.

**"No, I'm not hungry." I didn't understand his expression - it looked like he was enjoying some private joke.**

"Okay, tell me your secret, how do you notice these things."

"I just do." Answered Bella, it wasn't like she would tell them that she felt as she was home with them and feel that she is a part of their family. I it only would be a matter of time before she would be just like them.

Jasper smiled a little when he could feel her confidence, and love coming off her.

**"Can you do me a favor?" I asked after a second of hesitation.**

**He was suddenly wary. "That depends on what you want."**

**"It's not much," I assured him.**

**He waited, guarded but curious.**

**"I just wondered… if you could warn me beforehand the next time you decide to ignore me for my own good. Just so I'm prepared." I looked at the lemonade bottle as I spoke, tracing the circle of the opening with my pinkie finger.**

**"That sounds fair." He was pressing his lips together to keep from laughing when I looked up.**

"You were just too cute." Edward hugged her tightly and kissed her temple.

**"Thanks."**

**"Then can I have one answer in return?" he demanded.**

**"One."**

"No, don't leave it open like that."

**"Tell me _one _theory."**

"Ha! You had her. Nice job." Emmett said.

**Whoops. "Not that one."**

"Too late." Jasper smirked.

**"You didn't qualify, you just promised one answer," he reminded me.**

**"And you've broken promises yourself," I reminded him back.**

"I like that about you, you stood up against my stupid know-it-all brother."

**"Just one theory - I won't laugh."**

"Liar." Bella pouted while he chuckled.

**"Yes, you will." I was positive about that.**

**He looked down, and then glanced up at me through his long black lashes, his ocher eyes scorching.**

**"Please?" he breathed, leaning toward me.**

**I blinked, my mind going blank. Holy crow, how did he _do _that?**

"That is so unfair, stupid know-it-all dazzling vampire." Mumbled Bella frustrated and the Cullen's except Edward got suddenly a attack of coughing.

**"Er, what?" I asked, dazed.**

**"Please tell me just one little theory." His eyes still smoldered at me.**

**"Um, well, bitten by a radioactive spider?" Was he a hypnotist, too? Or was I just a hopeless pushover?**

"Well, I would say a hopeless pushover. But he does have a unfair advantage."

**"That's not very creative," he scoffed.**

**"I'm sorry, that's all I've got," I said, miffed.**

**"You're not even close," he teased.**

**"No spiders?"**

**"Nope."**

**"And no radioactivity?"**

**"None."**

**"Dang," I sighed.**

**"Kryptonite doesn't bother me, either," he chuckled.**

"Try to make me stay away from bites?" Asked Bella quiet. "It worked, for a time, I found it strange later at night."

**"You're not supposed to laugh, remember?"**

**He struggled to compose his face.**

**"I'll figure it out eventually," I warned him.**

"I told you didn't I, can't see why it was so surprising for you."

**"I wish you wouldn't try." He was serious again.**

**"Because… ?"**

**"What if I'm not a superhero? What if I'm the bad guy?" He smiled playfully, but his eyes were impenetrable.**

**"Oh," I said, as several things he'd hinted fell suddenly into place. "I see."**

"Gave me a heart attack there, to much info and then you said that you I see. Only time a human has scared me."

"What did you see?"

"That he was dangerous, but also something more."

**"Do you?" His face was abruptly severe, as if he were afraid that he'd accidentally said too much.**

"I couldn't get how you could see. I hadn't told you much."

"But it was enough."

**"You're dangerous?" I guessed, my pulse quickening as I intuitively realized the truth of my own words.**

**He _was _dangerous. He'd been trying to tell me that all along.**

**He just looked at me, eyes full of some emotion I couldn't comprehend.**

"It's really impressive." Carlisle muttered in awe.

**"But not bad," I whispered, shaking my head. "No, I don't believe that you're bad."**

Edward sighed, when would she see that he wasn't good?

**"You're wrong." His voice was almost inaudible. He looked down, stealing my bottle lid and then spinning it on its side between his fingers. I stared at him, wondering why I didn't feel afraid. He meant what he was saying - that was obvious. But I just felt anxious, on edge… and, more than anything else, fascinated. The same way I always felt when I was near him.**

**The silence lasted until I noticed that the cafeteria was almost empty.**

**I jumped to my feet. "We're going to be late."**

**"I'm not going to class today," he said, twirling the lid so fast it was just a blur.**

**"Why not?"**

**"It's healthy to ditch class now and then." He smiled up at me, but his eyes were still troubled. **

"Ditch?" Esme said narrowed her eyes before she remembered. "Of course, I let this slip."

**"Well, I'm going," I told him. I was far too big a coward to risk getting caught.**

"Why do I have to be so afraid."

"Says the girl that runs to a sadistic vampire." Mumbled the Cullen's

"I heard that."

"But…. How… Can't… Impossible…" Stuttered the Cullen's, she shouldn't have heard that.

**He turned his attention back to his makeshift top. "I'll see you later, then."**

**I hesitated, torn, but then the first bell sent me hurrying out the door - with a last glance confirming that he hadn't moved a centimeter.**

**As I half-ran to class, my head was spinning faster than the bottle cap. So few questions had been answered in comparison to how many new questions had been raised. At least the rain had stopped.**

**I was lucky; Mr. Banner wasn't in the room yet when I arrived. I settled quickly into my seat, aware that both Mike and Angela were staring at me. Mike looked resentful;**

Edward snorted and rolled his eyes.

**Angela looked surprised, and slightly awed.**

**Mr. Banner came in the room then, calling the class to order. He was juggling a few small cardboard boxes in his arms. He put them down on Mike's table, telling him to start passing them around the class.**

**"Okay, guys, I want you all to take one piece from each box," he said as he produced a pair of rubber gloves from the pocket of his lab jacket and pulled them on. The sharp sound as the gloves snapped into place against his wrists seemed ominous to me. **

"Hate that class."

**"The first should be an indicator card," he went on, grabbing a white card with four squares marked on it and displaying it. "The second is a four-pronged applicator -" he held up something that looked like a nearly toothless hair pick "- and the third is a sterile micro-lancet." He held up a small piece of blue plastic and split it open. The barb was invisible from this distance, but my stomach flipped.**

Bella shuddered, she really, really hated to take that.

Edward on the other hand was shaking with silent laugher.

**"I'll be coming around with a dropper of water to prepare your cards, so please don't start until I get to you." He began at Mike's table again, carefully putting one drop of water in each of the four squares.**

**"Then I want you to carefully prick your finger with the lancet…" He grabbed Mike's hand and jabbed the spike into the tip of Mike's middle finger. Oh no. Clammy moisture broke out across my forehead.**

"Wait!" Said Emmett with a glint in his eyes. "Is this really going the way I think it's going?"

**"Put a small drop of blood on each of the prongs." He demonstrated, squeezing Mike's finger till the blood flowed. I swallowed convulsively, my stomach heaving.**

"No way."

"Yes way. Have you any idea of how ironic this is?" Asked Jasper in disbelief.

"Oh, I know, but it's my fault."

"The girl that hangs around vampires is afraid of blood." Asked Rose quietly.

Bella shook her head, and confused the Cullen's even more.

**"And then apply it to the card," he finished, holding up the dripping red card for us to see. I closed my eyes, trying to hear through the ringing in my ears.**

"Did you faint." Carlisle asked worried.

"Almost. It was really horrible." Bella said.

**"The Red Cross is having a blood drive in Port Angeles next weekend, so I thought you should all know your blood type." He sounded proud of himself. **

**"Those of you who aren't eighteen yet will need a parent's permission - I have slips at my desk."**

**He continued through the room with his water drops. I put my cheek against the cool black tabletop and tried to hold on to my consciousness. **

"Oh sweetheart." Esme sighed worriedly.

**All around me I could hear squeals, complaints, and giggles as my classmates skewered their fingers. I breathed slowly in and out through my mouth.**

"Why do you breath through your mouth?" Asked Jena.

"It will be in the book."

**"Bella, are you all right?" Mr. Banner asked. His voice was close to my head, and it sounded alarmed. **

**"I already know my blood type, Mr. Banner," I said in a weak voice. I was afraid to raise my head.**

**"Are you feeling faint?"**

**"Yes, sir," I muttered, internally kicking myself for not ditching when I had the chance.**

"I told you." Edward smirked.

"But you could have told me why, you could have said that you are afraid of blood or something."

**"Can someone take Bella to the nurse, please?" he called.**

**I didn't have to look up to know that it would be Mike who volunteered.**

Edward growled low.

**"Can you walk?" Mr. Banner asked.**

**"Yes," I whispered. Just let me get out of here, I thought. I'll crawl.**

Everybody chuckled again. Over dramatic much?

**Mike seemed eager as he put his arm around my waist and pulled my arm over his shoulder. I leaned against him heavily on the way out of the classroom.**

"Maybe I should have a little talk with him." Edward muttered darkly.

**Mike towed me slowly across campus. When we were around the edge of the cafeteria, out of sight of building four in case Mr. Banner was watching, I stopped.**

**"Just let me sit for a minute, please?" I begged.**

**He helped me sit on the edge of the walk.**

**"And whatever you do, keep your hand in your pocket," I warned. I was still so dizzy. I slumped over on my side, putting my cheek against the freezing, damp cement of the sidewalk, closing my eyes. That seemed to help a little.**

**"Wow, you're green, Bella," Mike said nervously.**

"Yep, that is what every women want to hear."

**"Bella?" a different voice called from the distance.**

**No! Please let me be imagining that horribly familiar voice.**

**"What's wrong - is she hurt?" His voice was closer now, and he sounded upset.**

"Overreacting, can't even get a headache without it being a tumor."

**I wasn't imagining it. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to die. Or, at the very least, not to throw up.**

**Mike seemed stressed. "I think she's fainted. I don't know what happened, she didn't even stick her finger."**

**"Bella." Edward's voice was right beside me, relieved now. "Can you hear me?"**

**"No," I groaned. "Go away."**

**He chuckled.**

"That wasn't funny, be happy I'm not normal or I would have slapped your face for being so annoying."

"Sorry Bella. I didn't mean to upset you."

**"I was taking her to the nurse," Mike explained in a defensive tone, "but she wouldn't go any farther."**

**"I'll take her," Edward said. I could hear the smile still in his voice. "You can go back to class."**

**"No," Mike protested. "I'm supposed to do it."**

"Ridiculous, there is a lady on the ground and you two are fighting over who should take her to the nurse."

**Suddenly the sidewalk disappeared from beneath me. My eyes flew open in shock. Edward had scooped me up in his arms, as easily as if I weighed ten pounds instead of a hundred and ten.**

"Well, according to you, he did lift a van of from you."

"and he confessed it to by mistake."

**"Put me down!" Please, please let me not vomit on him. He was walking before I was finished talking.**

**"Hey!" Mike called, already ten paces behind us.**

**Edward ignored him. "You look awful," he told me, grinning.**

"Edward." Esme moaned. "That really wasn't nice."

**"Put me back on the sidewalk," I moaned. The rocking movement of his walk was not helping. He held me away from his body, gingerly, supporting all my weight with just his arms - it didn't seem to bother him.**

**"So you faint at the sight of blood?" he asked. This seemed to entertain him.**

"Like I said, so ironic." Chuckled Jasper.

**I didn't answer. I closed my eyes again and fought the nausea with all my strength, clamping my lips together.**

**"And not even your own blood," he continued, enjoying himself.**

"Very much." Edward grinned.

**I don't know how he opened the door while carrying me, but it was suddenly warm, so I knew we were inside.**

**"Oh my," I heard a female voice gasp.**

**"She fainted in Biology," Edward explained.**

**I opened my eyes. I was in the office, and Edward was striding past the front counter toward the nurse's door. Ms. Cope, the redheaded front office receptionist, ran ahead of him to hold it open. The grand motherly nurse looked up from a novel, astonished, as Edward swung me into the room and placed me gently on the crackly paper that covered the brown vinyl mattress on the one cot. Then he moved to stand against the wall as far across the narrow room as possible. His eyes were bright, excited.**

"Was that hard for you." Asked Bella looking up at Edward.

"Well... yes. First, the scent was really strong. But on the other hand..." he paused.

"On the other hand?" Bella urged, eager to hear his explanation.

"Holding you in my arms so close to me was amazing." he said smiling and she blushed.

**"She's just a little faint," he reassured the startled nurse. "They're blood typing in Biology."**

**The nurse nodded sagely. "There's always one."**

"And of course is it our Bella." Teased the Cullen 'kids.' Bella smiled and leaned into Edward-

**He muffled a snicker.**

**"Just lie down for a minute, honey; it'll pass."**

**"I know," I sighed. The nausea was already fading.**

**"Does this happen a lot?" she asked.**

**"Sometimes," I admitted. Edward coughed to hide another laugh. **

Edward snorted.

**"You can go back to class now," she told him.**

**"I'm supposed to stay with her." He said this with such assured authority that - even though she pursed her lips - the nurse didn't argue it further.**

"The nurse really doesn't like an audience."

**"I'll go _get _you some ice for your forehead, dear," she said to me, and then bustled out of the room.**

"Why? She has your own huge ice pack as her boyfriend." Emmett laughed.

"Edward wasn't my boyfriend then, Em." Sighed Bella.

"He's always been your boyfriend, you two just didn't know it." he shrugged grinning. **(AN: Borrowed this from Kiseger)**

**"You were right," I moaned, letting my eyes close.**

"NO don't make his ego bigger."

**"I usually am - but about what in particular this time?"**

"Sometimes your really just a pain in the ass, brother."

**"Ditching _is _healthy." I practiced breathing evenly.**

**"You scared me for a minute there," he admitted after a pause. His tone made it sound like he was confessing a humiliating weakness. **

**"I thought Newton was dragging your dead body off to bury it in the woods."**

"Like I said, to over dramatic. If he reacts that why about something so small. I can't imagine how he would react if I did something dangerous."

**"Ha ha." I still had my eyes closed, but I was feeling more normal every minute.**

**"Honestly - I've seen corpses with better color. I was concerned that I might have to avenge your murder."**

**"Poor Mike. I'll bet he's mad."**

**"He absolutely loathes me," Edward said cheerfully.**

"He'll die of jealousy, I'm sure of it." Edward said in the same cheerful tone.

**"You can't know that," I argued, but then I wondered suddenly if he could.**

"He thinks he knows everything."

"Why do you notice this much?"

"Shut up and listen, I don't know." Said Bella tired.

**"I saw his face - I could tell."**

**"How did you see me? I thought you were ditching." I was almost fine now, though the queasiness would probably pass faster if I'd eaten something for lunch. On the other hand, maybe it was lucky my stomach was empty.**

"Well, I guess it was better that you didn't eat anything."

**"I was in my car, listening to a CD." Such a normal response - it surprised me.**

"I can be normal." Pouted Edward.

"Of course you can, but no you won't, you are to strange."

**I heard the door and opened my eyes to see the nurse with a cold compress in her hand.**

**"Here you go, dear." She laid it across my forehead. "You're looking better," she added.**

**"I think I'm fine," I said, sitting up. Just a little ringing in my ears, no spinning. The mint green walls stayed where they should.**

**I could see she was about to make me lie back down, but the door opened just then, and Ms. Cope stuck her head in.**

**"We've got another one," she warned.**

**I hopped down to free up the cot for the next invalid.**

**I handed the compress back to the nurse. "Here, I don't need this."**

**And then Mike staggered through the door, now supporting a sallow-looking Lee Stephens, another boy in our Biology class. Edward and I drew back against the wall to give them room.**

**"Oh no," Edward muttered. "Go out to the office, Bella."**

"Blood?" Carlisle asked.

Edward nodded.

"And Mike Newton's vulgar thoughts." He added in his mind.

**I looked up at him, bewildered.**

**"Trust me - go."**

**I spun and caught the door before it closed, darting out of the infirmary. I could feel Edward right behind me.**

**"You actually listened to me." He was stunned.**

"First time ever."

"And probably one of the last."

**"I smelled the blood," I said, wrinkling my nose. Lee wasn't sick from watching other people, like me.**

"What?" all the Cullen's asked in unison, well, except Edward, of course. He already knew this and enjoyed it.

"Are you serious?" Carlisle asked excited and Bella nodded. "I have never heard of someone that can smell blood when it isn't much."

**"People can't smell blood," he contradicted.**

**"Well, I can - that's what makes me sick. It smells like rust… and salt."**

**He was staring at me with an unfathomable expression.**

"You really can smell it, can't you?"

"And it makes you sick. Awesome." Emmett laughed.

"Like you said, it is ironic and funny."

**"What?" I asked.**

**"It's nothing."**

**Mike came through the door then, glancing from me to Edward. The look he gave Edward confirmed what Edward had said about loathing. He looked back at me, his eyes glum.**

"I don't like Mike." Whispered Angela.

"None of us do." Ben shrugged.

**"_You _look better," he accused.**

"And, isn't that a good thing. What would you want? That she would feel or look worse?" Asked Jena confused.

"Actually, he wished that so he could be your hero by helping you feel better." Whispered Edward in Bella's ear, who just sighted. Maybe should she stop being friends with him.

**"Just keep your hand in your pocket," I warned him again.**

**"It's not bleeding anymore," he muttered. "Are you going back to class?"**

"Was he kidding? I seriously think that boy is really stupid or has something wrong in his head." Jasper shook his head.

"I guess he didn't want Bella to spend time with our sweet brother." Snorted Alice.

**"Are you kidding? I'd just have to turn around and come back."**

**"Yeah, I guess… So are you going this weekend? To the beach?" While he spoke, he flashed another glare toward Edward, who was standing against the cluttered counter, motionless as a sculpture, staring off into space.**

"Tried to ignore his thoughts, really annoying." Said Edward annoyed.

"And what did you think of?" Asked his siblings.

"Different way to make him disappear, forever." He chuckled at the thought and Bella shook her head amused. No one noticed as Angela listened to them warily.

**I tried to sound as friendly as possible. "Sure, I said I was in."**

**"We're meeting at my dad's store, at ten." His eyes flickered to Edward again, wondering if he was giving out too much information. His body language made it clear that it wasn't an open invitation.**

"I didn't matter, I don't like that beach."

**"I'll be there," I promised.**

**"I'll see you in Gym, then," he said, moving uncertainly toward the door.**

**"See you," I replied. He looked at me once more, his round face slightly pouting, and then as he walked slowly through the door, his shoulders slumped. A swell of sympathy washed over me. I pondered seeing his disappointed face again… in Gym.**

"Too forgiving, you know, I think that me and Jasper will teach you some things to." Grinned Emmett and his parents did almost groan. It would be a disaster if Bella learned things from everyone, especially Emmett.

"You should be very afraid, I know what everyone is planning." Edward shook his head.

**"Gym," I groaned.**

**"I can take care of that." I hadn't noticed Edward moving to my side, but he spoke now in my ear. "Go sit down and look pale," he muttered.**

**That wasn't a challenge; I was always pale, and my recent swoon had left a light sheen of sweat on my face. I sat in one of the creaky folding chairs and rested my head against the wall with my eyes closed.**

**Fainting spells always exhausted me.**

**I heard Edward speaking softly at the counter.**

**"Ms. Cope?"**

**"Yes?" I hadn't heard her return to her desk.**

**"Bella has Gym next hour, and I don't think she feels well enough. Actually, I was thinking I should take her home now. Do you think you could excuse her from class?" His voice was like melting honey. I could imagine how much more overwhelming his eyes would be.**

"Poor woman. She had no chance." Esme sighed quiet..

**"Do you need to be excused, too, Edward?" Ms. Cope fluttered. Why couldn't I do that?**

**"No, I have Mrs. Goff, she won't mind."**

**"Okay, it's all taken care of. You feel better, Bella," she called to me. I nodded weakly, hamming it up just a bit.**

**"Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you again?" With his back to the receptionist, his expression became sarcastic.**

"You're a terrible actress, love."

"I wouldn't say that, she fooled me and Jasper." Alice said.

**"I'll walk."**

**I stood carefully, and I was still fine. He held the door for me, his smile polite but his eyes mocking. I walked out into the cold, fine mist that had just begun to fall. It felt nice - the first time I'd enjoyed the constant moisture falling out of the sky - as it washed my face clean of the sticky perspiration.**

**"Thanks," I said as he followed me out. "It's almost worth getting sick to miss Gym."**

**"Anytime." He was staring straight forward, squinting into the rain.**

**"So are you going? This Saturday, I mean?" I was hoping he would, though it seemed unlikely. I couldn't picture him loading up to carpool with the rest of the kids from school; he didn't belong in the same world.**

"Interesting choice of words." Carlisle smiled.

"Even when she doesn't know she does still manage to guess right. Did you know that she told me that I would be good at leading a army earlier?" Carlisle gaped at her, but no one except Esme, Jasper and Edward noticed that.

**But just hoping that he might gave me the first twinge of enthusiasm I'd felt for the outing.**

**"Where are you all going, exactly?" He was still looking ahead, expressionless.**

**"Down to La Push, to First Beach." I studied his face, trying to read it. His eyes seemed to narrow infinitesimally.**

Edward shook his head, he didn't think she noticed that.

**He glanced down at me from the corner of his eye, smiling wryly. "I really don't think I was invited."**

**I sighed. "I just invited you."**

**"Let's you and I not push poor Mike any further this week. We don't want him to snap." His eyes danced; he was enjoying the idea more than he should.**

"Of course I did."

**"Mike-schmike." I muttered, preoccupied by the way he'd said "you and I." I liked it more than _I _should.**

Everybody laughed, well except of Mike, Bella blushed of course.

**We were near the parking lot now. I veered left, toward my truck. Something caught my jacket, yanking me back.**

Carlisle narrowed his eyes.

**"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, outraged. He was gripping a fistful of my jacket in one hand.**

**I was confused. "I'm going home."**

**"Didn't you hear me promise to take you safely home? Do you think I'm going to let you drive in your condition?" His voice was still indignant.**

**"What condition? And what about my truck?" I complained.**

**"I'll have Alice drop it off after school." He was towing me toward his car now, pulling me by my jacket.**

**It was all I could do to keep from falling backward. He'd probably just drag me along anyway if I did.**

"I certainly hope not." Carlisle looked at Edward with narrowed eyes and Edward gulped.

**"Let go!" I insisted. He ignored me. I staggered along sideways across the wet sidewalk until we reached the Volvo. Then he finally freed me - I stumbled against the passenger door.**

"Edward." Esme said horrified. "How could you treat a lady like this?"

"Sorry Bella."

"And there he goes again, his sorry's are going to be my death." Groaned Bella.

**"You are so _pushy_!" I grumbled.**

**"It's open," was all he responded. He got in the driver's side.**

**"I am perfectly capable of driving myself home!" I stood by the car, fuming. **

"I can't believe how Bella ended up with you, you make her pissed all the time."

**It was raining harder now, and I'd never put my hood up, so my hair was dripping down my back.**

**He lowered the automatic window and leaned toward me across the seat. "Get in, Bella."**

**I didn't answer. I was mentally calculating my chances of reaching the truck before he could catch me. I had to admit, they weren't good.**

"Yeah, that's an understatement." Emmett laughed.

"It wouldn't have surprised me if she did." Said Rose.

"Already then she knew that she didn't have any chance." Now laughed all the Cullen siblings.

"Hey, I have gotten away from you guys two times." Bella smirked when they stopped to laugh, she may be human right now but she could play the game.

**"I'll just drag you back," he threatened, guessing my plan.**

"Defiantly not, that is no way to treat a lady."

**I tried to maintain what dignity I could as I got into his car. I wasn't very successful - I looked like a half-drowned cat and my boots squeaked.**

"I thought you looked adorable."

**"This is completely unnecessary," I said stiffly.**

**He didn't answer. He fiddled with the controls, turning the heater up and the music down. As he pulled out of the parking lot, I was preparing to give him the silent treatment - my face in full pout mode - but then I recognized the music playing, and my curiosity got the better of my intentions.**

"Aww, but I like angry Bella more, she is funny."

"Would you like to meet angry Bella in person." Threatened Bella.

"No." He pouted like a child.

**"Clair de Lune?" I asked, surprised.**

"You know Debussy?"

"A little, I know my favorites and some others, my mother played them all the time when I was little."

**"You know Debussy?" He sounded surprised, too.**

**"Not well," I admitted. "My mother plays a lot of classical music around the house - I only know my favorites."**

**"It's one of my favorites, too." He stared out through the rain, lost in thought.**

"See, didn't I tell you from the beginning that you where perfect for each other."

**I listened to the music, relaxing against the light gray leather seat. It was impossible not to respond to the familiar, soothing melody. The rain blurred everything outside the window into gray and green smudges. I began to realize we were driving very fast; the car moved so steadily, so evenly, though, I didn't feel the speed. Only the town flashing by gave it away.**

**"What is your mother like?" he asked me suddenly.**

**I glanced over to see him studying me with curious eyes.**

**"She looks a lot like me, but she's prettier," I said.**

"That is hard to imagine darlin."

**He raised his eyebrows. "I have too much Charlie in me. She's more outgoing than I am, and braver."**

"Braver? That can't be possible, I'm sorry Bella. But I think you are much braver."

**"She's irresponsible and slightly eccentric, and she's a very unpredictable cook. She's my best friend." I stopped. Talking about her was making me depressed.**

Bella smiled a little.

**"How old are you, Bella?" His voice sounded frustrated for some reason I couldn't imagine. He'd stopped the car, and I realized we were at Charlie's house already. The rain was so heavy that I could barely see the house at all. It was like the car was submerged under a river.**

**"I'm seventeen," I responded, a little confused.**

**"You don't seem seventeen."**

"He's right, you seem much older than seventeen, more mature."

**His tone was reproachful; it made me laugh.**

**"What?" he asked, curious again.**

**"My mom always says I was born thirty-five years old and that I get more middle-aged every year." I laughed, and then sighed. "Well, someone has to be the adult." **

"Okay, that is a little sad." Said Angela.

"Well, I got my chance here, to not have to be an adult at all times." She smiled at the Cullen's. It was nice to have someone that took care of you and not the other way around.

**I paused for a second. "You don't seem much like a junior in high school yourself," I noted.**

"No, he is just a bit older." Sniggered Rosalie.

**He made a face and changed the subject.**

**"So why did your mother marry Phil?"**

**I was surprised he would remember the name; I'd mentioned it just once, almost two months ago. It took me a moment to answer.**

"Photographic memory, doesn't forgot anything."

**"My mother… she's very young for her age. I think Phil makes her feel even younger. At any rate, she's crazy about him." I shook my head. The attraction was a mystery to me. **

**"Do you approve?" he asked.**

**"Does it matter?" I countered. "I want her to be happy… and he is who she wants."**

"That is really kind of you, Bella." Angela smiled.

**"That's very generous… I wonder," he mused.**

**"What?"**

**"Would she extend the same courtesy to you, do you think? No matter who your choice was?" He was suddenly intent, his eyes searching mine.**

"Yeah, she is very approving of you, she likes that you take care of me. Unfortunately Charlie doesn't like you, I must really talk to him about that. "

**"I-I think so," I stuttered. "But she's the parent, after all. It's a little bit different."**

**"No one too scary then," he teased.**

**I grinned in response. "What do you mean by scary? Multiple facial piercings and extensive tattoos?"**

Emmett was hysteric again and the other Cullen's did just giggle or chuckle.

**"That's one definition, I suppose."**

**"What's your definition?"**

**But he ignored my question and asked me another. "Do you think that _I_ could be scary?" He raised one eyebrow, and the faint trace of a smile lightened his face.**

**I thought for a moment, wondering whether the truth or a lie would go over better. I decided to go with the truth. "Hmmm… I think you _could be_, if you wanted to."**

"Amazing, she really knows you well." Said Carlisle in awe.

**"Are you frightened of me now?" The smile vanished, and his heavenly face was suddenly serious. **

**"No." But I answered too quickly. The smile returned.**

"Of course you can't believe I'm not afraid of you. Why would I. You aren't even scary, not compared to others, like…" Mumbled Bella and Edward grimaced, she was thinking of James, but he was wrong, she was thinking of the guy with the knife that had stabbed her in the shoulder.

**"So, now are you going to tell me about your family?" I asked to distract him. **

**"It's got to be a much more interesting story than mine."**

"I was right, I found two that I know really interesting, but I think the third is a little sad."

**He was instantly cautious. "What do you want to know?"**

**"The Cullen's adopted you?" I verified.**

**"Yes."**

**I hesitated for a moment. "What happened to your parents?"**

**"They died many years ago." His tone was matter-of-fact.**

**"I'm sorry," I mumbled.**

**"I don't really remember them that clearly. Carlisle and Esme have been my parents for a long time now."**

**"And you love them." It wasn't a question. It was obvious in the way he spoke of them.**

**"Yes." He smiled. "I couldn't imagine two better people."**

"Oh honey, thank you very much. We love you to." Esme beamed at him together with Carlisle.

**"You're very lucky."**

**"I know I am."**

**"And your brother and sister?"**

**He glanced at the clock on the dashboard.**

**"My brother and sister, and Jasper and Rosalie for that matter, are going to be quite upset if they have to stand in the rain waiting for me."**

"We could have run home."

**"Oh, sorry, I guess you have to go." I didn't want to get out of the car.**

"I didn't want you to go either." Edward said.

**"And you probably want your truck back before Chief Swan gets home, so you don't have to tell him about the Biology incident." He grinned at me.**

**"I'm sure he's already heard. There are no secrets in Forks." I sighed.**

**He laughed, and there was an edge to his laughter.**

"Okay, that was ironic." Laughed Bella together with the Cullen's

**"Have fun at the beach… good weather for sunbathing." He glanced out at the sheeting rain.**

**"Won't I see you tomorrow?"**

**"No. Emmett and I are starting the weekend early."**

**"What are you going to do?" A friend could ask that, right? I hoped the disappointment wasn't too apparent in my voice.**

"Oh, you are more than friends, you just haven't realized that yet."

**"We're going to be hiking in the Goat Rocks Wilderness, just south of Rainier."**

"But it is too many bears there." Said Mike.

"We know how to deal with them, we have camped all our life." Answered Esme kindly.

**I remembered Charlie had said the Cullen's went camping frequently.**

**"Oh, well, have fun." I tried to sound enthusiastic. I don't think I fooled him, though. A smile was playing around the edges of his lips.**

**"Will you do something for me this weekend?" He turned to look me straight in the face, utilizing the full power of his burning gold eyes.**

**I nodded helplessly.**

**"Don't be offended, but you seem to be one of those people who just attract accidents like a magnet. So… try not to fall into the ocean or get run over or anything, all right?" He smiled crookedly.**

Everyone started to laugh and Bella blushed and glared at Edward.

"Better watch out or, maybe something happens to your car."

**The helplessness had faded as he spoke. I glared at him.**

**"I'll see what I can do," I snapped as I jumped out into the rain. I slammed the door behind me with excessive force.**

"Good work girl, show that you can handle yourself." Cheered Rose.

**He was still smiling as he drove away.**

"And that is the end, who wants to read?" Eric closed the book.


	8. Scary Stories

Thanks to everyone that supports me and left me reviews. It makes my day much easier.

One last thing, you guys are amazing, when I started this story I never thought that I would get this much support, so thank you, thank you, thank you. Love you all.

* * *

"And that is the end, who wants to read?" Eric closed the book.

"What is the name of the chapter?"

"Ehh, it's called Scary stories."

"Okay, then will I read, give me the book." Said Bella and turned to the right side, this wasn't going to be easy.

**"Scary stories" **Read Bella with clear voice and sent a look at the Cullen's.

**As I sat in my room, trying to concentrate on the third act of Macbeth, I was really listening for my truck. I would have thought, even over the pounding rain, I could have heard the engine's roar. But when I went to peek out the curtain - again - it was suddenly there.**

"Maybe I should have choose another way to bring home you car." Alice grimaced.

**I wasn't looking forward to Friday, and it more than lived up to my non-expectations. Of course there were the fainting comments. Jessica especially seemed to get a kick out of that story. Luckily Mike had kept his mouth shut, and no one seemed to know about Edward's involvement. She did have a lot of questions about lunch, though.**

**"So what did Edward Cullen want yesterday?" Jessica asked in Trig.**

"To be Bella's boylfriend. What else?"

**"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "He never really got to the point."**

"No, he just gave you some other things to figure out our secret." Rose said.

**"You looked kind of mad," she fished.**

**"Did I?" I kept my expression blank.**

**"You know, I've never seen him sit with anyone but his family before. That was weird."**

**"Weird," I agreed. She seemed annoyed; she flipped her dark curls impatiently - I guessed she'd been hoping to hear something that would make a good story for her to pass on.**

"Probably was." Said Vanessa.

**The worst part about Friday was that, even though I knew he wasn't going to be there, I still hoped.**

Bella blushed and was happy that she was reading, this way could she continue when it became to embarrassing.

**When I walked into the cafeteria with Jessica and Mike, I couldn't keep from looking at his table, where Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper sat talking, heads close together. And I couldn't stop the gloom that engulfed me as I realized I didn't know how long I would have to wait before I saw him again.**

"That is so sweet, but gross in one way, but still very sweet." Said Rosalie and Emmett pouted, that wasn't a fun weekend.

**At my usual table, everyone was full of our plans for the next day. Mike was animated again, putting a great deal of trust in the local weatherman who promised sun tomorrow. I'd have to see that before I believed it. But it was warmer today - almost sixty. Maybe the outing wouldn't be completely miserable.**

"But it would been better if Eddie was there, wouldn't it?" Alice smirked.

"Maybe…" Giggled Bella and Edward looked at her horrified and confused.

**I intercepted a few unfriendly glances from Lauren during lunch, which I didn't understand until we were all walking out of the room together. I was right behind her, just a foot from her slick, silver blond hair, and she was evidently unaware of that.**

**"…don't know why Bella" - she sneered my name - "doesn't just sit with the Cullen's from now on."**

"OH I think I will." Bella smirked at Lauren before she continued and her sisters looked at her proud.

**I heard her muttering to Mike. I'd never noticed what an unpleasant, nasal voice she had, and I was surprised by the malice in it. I really didn't know her well at all, certainly not well enough for her to dislike me - or so I'd thought. "She's my friend; she sits with us," Mike whispered back loyally, but also a bit territorially.**

"Back off from our sister or you will have to deal with us." Emmett and Jasper glared at him and Jasper added some fear. The most of the students looked surprise, there sister? How close was Bella to the Cullen's?

"Jazzy, Em, play fair and nice now." Bella smiled.

**I paused to let Jess and Angela pass me. I didn't want to hear any more.**

"Wrong move, you should have listened and then throw it back in her face."

"Well, in one way I did, I do sit with you guys now, don't I Rose."

**That night at dinner, Charlie seemed enthusiastic about my trip to La Push in the morning. I think he felt guilty for leaving me home alone on the weekends, but he'd spent too many years building his habits to break them now. Of course he knew the names of all the kids going, and their parents, and their great-grandparents, too, probably. He seemed to approve. I wondered if he would approve of my plan to ride to Seattle with Edward Cullen. Not that I was going to tell him.**

"Why not?" Was the question everyone asked.

"He would freak out and then ask lots of questions, then decide that he doesn't like Edward and have preconceptions, and then he would come up with some kind of excuse to try to make me stay home."

**"Dad, do you know a place called Goat Rocks or something like that? I think it's south of Mount Rainier," I asked casually.**

"You really need to stop being so noisy about us, you'll find out all the facts."

**"Yeah - why?"**

**I shrugged. "Some kids were talking about camping there."**

**"It's not a very good place for camping." He sounded surprised. "Too many bears. Most people go there during the hunting season."**

"But you could still camp there, and Carlisle is the best doctor ever."

**"Oh," I murmured. "Maybe I got the name wrong."**

"Just one more thing to add to the puzzle."

**I meant to sleep in, but an unusual brightness woke me. I opened my eyes to see a clear yellow light streaming through my window. I couldn't believe it. I hurried to the window to check, and sure enough, there was the sun.**

"Of course you would be surprised at that."

**It was in the wrong place in the sky, too low, and it didn't seem to be as close as it should be, but it was definitely the sun. Clouds ringed the horizon, but a large patch of blue was visible in the middle. I lingered by the window as long as I could, afraid that if I left the blue would disappear again.**

"You really miss the sun." Asked Lee, a guy that sits behind Bella in biology.

"NO, not really. Maybe before but I really like it here."

**The Newtons' Olympic Outfitters store was just north of town. I'd seen the store, but I'd never stopped there - not having much need for any supplies required for being outdoors over an extended period of time. In the parking lot I recognized Mike's Suburban and Tyler's Sentra. As I pulled up next to their vehicles, I could see the group standing around in front of the Suburban. Eric was there, along with two other boys I had class with; I was fairly sure their names were Ben and Conner. Jess was there, flanked by Angela and Lauren. Three other girls stood with them, including one I remembered falling over in Gym on Friday.**

Chuckles could be heard around the hall and of course did Bella blushed and hid behind Alice.

**That one gave me a dirty look as I got out of the truck, and whispered something to Lauren.**

**Lauren shook out her corn silk hair and eyed me scornfully.**

**So it was going to be one of those days.**

"Really nice group, crazy admires and bitches, not you Angela, Ben."

"You know our names?" "Rose, please watch your language." Said Ben, Angela and Esme at the same time.

"Sorry mom, and of course, you are friends with Bella and are nice people."

"You know, I'm not sure this is Rosalie Hale."

**At least Mike was happy to see me.**

Edward growled, but stopped when Bella elbowed him in the ribs.

**"You came!" he called, delighted. "And I said it would be sunny today, didn't I?"**

**"I told you I was coming," I reminded him.**

**"We're just waiting for Lee and Samantha… unless you invited someone," Mike added.**

"I should have come, if I could."

"The Qualities doesn't like the Cullen's and have forbidden them to cross there land, it will be explained."

**"Nope," I lied lightly, hoping I wouldn't get caught in the lie. But also wishing that a miracle would occur, and Edward would appear.**

"It would have been funny to watch everyones face."

**Mike looked satisfied.**

**"Will you ride in my car? It's that or Lee's mom's minivan."**

**"Sure."**

**He smiled blissfully. It was so easy to make Mike happy.**

Emmett and Jasper glared at Mike.

**"You can have shotgun," he promised. I hid my chagrin. It wasn't as simple to make Mike and Jessica happy at the same time. I could see Jessica glowering at us now.**

**The numbers worked out in my favor, though. Lee brought two extra people, and suddenly every seat was necessary. I managed to wedge Jess in between Mike and me in the front seat of the Suburban.**

Edward's face lit up and smiled down at Bella cheerfully and she burst out laughing.

"You're unbelievable." She laughed.

**Mike could have been more graceful about it, but at least Jess seemed appeased.**

**It was only fifteen miles to La Push from Forks, with gorgeous, dense green forests edging the road most of the way and the wide Quillayute River snaking beneath it twice. I was glad I had the window seat. We'd rolled the windows down - the Suburban was a bit claustrophobic with nine people in it - and I tried to absorb as much sunlight as possible.**

**I'd been to the beaches around La Push many times during my Forks summers with Charlie, so the mile-long crescent of First Beach was familiar to me. **

"I wish I could see you when you were little." All the Cullen's smiled.

"Maybe." Was all Bella said.

**It was still breathtaking. The water was dark gray, even in the sunlight, white-capped and heaving to the gray, rocky shore. Islands rose out of the steel harbor waters with sheer cliff sides, reaching to uneven summits, and crowned with austere, soaring firs.**

**The beach had only a thin border of actual sand at the water's edge, after which it grew into millions of large, smooth stones that looked uniformly gray from a distance, but close up were every shade a stone could be: terra-cotta, sea green, lavender, blue gray, dull gold. The tide line was strewn with huge driftwood trees, bleached bone white in the salt waves, some piled together against the edge of the forest fringe, some lying solitary, just out of reach of the waves.**

**There was a brisk wind coming off the waves, cool and briny. Pelicans floated on the swells while seagulls and a lone eagle wheeled above them. The clouds still circled the sky, threatening to invade at any moment, but for now the sun shone bravely in its halo of blue sky.**

Esme sighted, "It sounds very beautiful. I wish I could see it."

"I think I have a lot of pictures somewhere at home that I can give you."

**We picked our way down to the beach, Mike leading the way to a ring of driftwood logs that had obviously been used for parties like ours before. There was a fire circle already in place, filled with black ashes. Eric and the boy I thought was named Ben gathered broken branches of driftwood from the drier piles against the forest edge, and soon had a teepee-shaped construction built atop the old cinders.**

**"Have you ever seen a driftwood fire?" Mike asked me. I was sitting on one of the bone-colored benches; the other girls clustered, gossiping excitedly, on either side of me.**

"No I have, but what Edward did was cooler."

**Mike kneeled by the fire, lighting one of the smaller sticks with a cigarette lighter.**

**"No," I said as he placed the blazing twig carefully against the teepee.**

**"You'll like this then - watch the colors." He lit another small branch and laid it alongside the first. The flames started to lick quickly up the dry wood.**

**"It's blue," I said in surprise.**

Those who hadn't seen a driftwood fire gasped, it sounded beautiful.

"A pretty nice try, but you won't win Bella's heart, you're too boring, no secrets, no mystery and no charming personality and not the right looks."

"Emmett, I said play nice."

**"The salt does it. Pretty, isn't it?" He lit one more piece, placed it where the fire hadn't yet caught, and then came to sit by me. Thankfully, Jess was on his other side. She turned to him and claimed his attention. I watched the strange blue and green flames crackle toward the sky.**

**After a half hour of chatter, some of the boys wanted to hike to the nearby tidal pools. It was a dilemma. On the one hand, I loved the tide pools. They had fascinated me since I was a child; they were one of the only things I ever looked forward to when I had to come to Forks. **

Edward leaned forward excited.

**On the other hand, I'd also fallen into them a lot.**

"Of course."

**Not a big deal when you're seven and with your dad. It reminded me of Edward's request - that I not fall into the ocean.**

"Edward is always on your mind I guess." Ben smiled.

"Not always, sometimes it's Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rose, Carlisle or Esme on my mind instead."

**Lauren was the one who made my decision for me. She didn't want to hike, and she was definitely wearing the wrong shoes for it. Most of the other girls besides Angela and Jessica decided to stay on the beach as well. I waited until Tyler and Eric had committed to remaining with them before I got up quietly to join the pro-hiking group. Mike gave me a huge smile when he saw that I was coming. **

Many girls shook there's head, he just couldn't get it.

**The hike wasn't too long, though I hated to lose the sky in the woods. The green light of the forest was strangely at odds with the adolescent laughter, too murky and ominous to be in harmony with the light banter around me. I had to watch each step I took very carefully, avoiding roots below and branches above, and I soon fell behind. Eventually I broke through the emerald confines of the forest and found the rocky shore again. It was low tide, and a tidal river flowed past us on its way to the sea. Along its pebbled banks, shallow pools that never completely drained were teeming with life.**

**I was very cautious not to lean too far over the little ocean ponds. **

"You listened to me. Again." Edward was surprised, really surprised.

"I can listen, I just chose not to because I know you are wrong."

**The others were fearless, leaping over the rocks, perching precariously on the edges. I found a very stable-looking rock on the fringe of one of the largest pools and sat there cautiously, spellbound by the natural aquarium below me. The bouquets of brilliant anemones undulated ceaselessly in the invisible current, twisted shells scurried about the edges, obscuring the crabs within them, starfish stuck motionless to the rocks and each other, while one small black eel with white racing stripes wove through the bright green weeds, waiting for the sea to return. I was completely absorbed, except for one small part of my mind that wondered what Edward was doing now, and trying to imagine what he would be saying if he were here with me.**

"I love you, Bella."

"Love you to."

**Finally the boys were hungry, and I got up stiffly to follow them back. I tried to keep up better this time through the woods, so naturally I fell a few times. I got some shallow scrapes on my palms, and the knees of my jeans were stained green, but it could have been worse.**

Edward kissed Bella's jaw and her heart started to beat very fast and she started to blush because she knew that her new family could hear it.

**When we got back to First Beach, the group we'd left behind had multiplied. As we got closer we could see the shining, straight black hair and copper skin of the newcomers, teenagers from the reservation come to socialize.**

All the Cullen's froze, Bella eyed them suspiciously, something was wrong and she knew she was going to find out why.

**The food was already being passed around, and the boys hurried to claim a share while Eric introduced us as we each entered the driftwood circle. Angela and I were the last to arrive, and, as Eric said our names, I noticed a younger boy sitting on the stones near the fire glance up at me in interest. I sat down next to Angela, and Mike brought us sandwiches and an array of sodas to choose from, while a boy who looked to be the oldest of the visitors rattled off the names of the seven others with him. All I caught was that one of the girls was also named Jessica, and the boy who noticed me was named Jacob.**

Edward growled.

"Aww come on, let me see, what can I do to make him leave La-Push so I can threaten him to stay away." Wondered Emmett out loud.

"Maybe just ask Bella to call him so he comes home to her?"

"Smart idea, Jasper. Really smart. Bella can you call him?"

"Let me think about it, I want to know if he deserves it first."

**It was relaxing to sit with Angela; she was a restful kind of person to be around - she didn't feel the need to fill every silence with chatter. **

"Thanks for that Angela. I really appreciate it."

**She left me free to think undisturbed while we ate. And I was thinking about how disjointedly time seemed to flow in Forks, passing in a blur at times, with single images standing out more clearly than others. And then, at other times, every second was significant, etched in my mind. I knew exactly what caused the difference, and it disturbed me.**

"Hey, Edward. What can you catch but not throw?"

"Bella, that is so easy, a cold."

"Dammit, I should have taken the answer with the breath. All right, new one. The man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it. What is it?" Bella smiled as everyone thought about it.

"I know, a coffin. The man who invented it doesn't want it because he wants to live. The man who bought it doesn't need it because it is someone else's and the man who needs doesn't know it because he is dead. So the answer is a coffin."

"Thanks a lot Emmett, but I want to prove that Edward isn't as smart as he thinks, I will come up with one he can't figure out."

"Good luck with that." Snorted Edward.

Okay, figure out this one. Why are vampires like false teeth?" She smirked as Edward gaped.

"Bella, what the…"

"I thought it was fitting." She continued to smirk as all the Cullen's except for Edward shook with silent laugher. Of course would Bella chose that riddle.

"But..."

"Can't answer? I give you until the chapter is over. And people call you smart."

**During lunch the clouds started to advance, slinking across the blue sky, darting in front of the sun momentarily, casting long shadows across the beach, and blackening the waves. As they finished eating, people started to drift away in twos and threes. Some walked down to the edge of the waves, trying to skip rocks across the choppy surface. Others were gathering a second expedition to the tide pools. Mike - with Jessica shadowing him - headed up to the one shop in the village. **

"A perfect match." Thought Bella as Edward shuddered as he listen to Emmett's thoughts.

**Some of the local kids went with them; others went along on the hike. By the time they all had scattered, I was sitting alone on my driftwood log, with Lauren and Tyler occupying themselves by the CD player someone had thought to bring, and three teenagers from the reservation perched around the circle, including the boy named Jacob and the oldest boy who had acted as spokesperson. **

**A few minutes after Angela left with the hikers, Jacob sauntered over to take her place by my side. He looked fourteen, maybe fifteen, and had long, glossy black hair pulled back with a rubber band at the nape of his neck. His skin was beautiful, silky and russet-colored; his eyes were dark, set deep above the high planes of his cheekbones. He still had just a hint of childish roundness left around his chin.**

**Altogether, a very pretty face. However, my positive opinion of his looks was damaged by the first words out of his mouth.**

**"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?"**

**It was like the first day of school all over again.**

"Nice start." Emmett and Jasper laughed.

**"Bella," I sighed.**

**"I'm Jacob Black." He held his hand out in a friendly gesture. "You bought my dad's truck."**

"Stupid truck."

**"Oh," I said, relieved, shaking his sleek hand. "You're Billy's son. I probably should remember you." **

**"No, I'm the youngest of the family - you would remember my older sisters."**

**"Rachel and Rebecca," I suddenly recalled. Charlie and Billy had thrown us together a lot during my visits, to keep us busy while they fished. We were all too shy to make much progress as friends. Of course, I'd kicked up enough tantrums to end the fishing trips by the time I was eleven.**

"I can't see you do that."

"I had reasons. It's boring to just sit there quiet for hours or just listen to Billy and Charlie talk. I never wanted to go there, but Charlie thought it was a good idea to become close each other, which I don't understand because he only talked to Billy. So I refused."

**"Are they here?" I examined the girls at the ocean's edge, wondering if I would recognize them now.**

**"No." Jacob shook his head. "Rachel got a scholarship to Washington State, and Rebecca married a Samoan surfer - she lives in Hawaii now."**

**"Married. Wow." I was stunned. The twins were only a little over a year older than I was.**

**"So how do you like the truck?" he asked.**

**"I love it. It runs great."**

Edward rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything.

**"Yeah, but it's really slow," he laughed. "I was so relived when Charlie bought it. My dad wouldn't let me work on building another car when we had a perfectly good vehicle right there."**

**"It's not that slow," I objected.**

**"Have you tried to go over sixty?"**

**"No," I admitted.**

**"Good. Don't." He grinned.**

"You got to kidding with me, that is to slow." Rose sounded horrified.

"It's a gift from Charlie."

**I couldn't help grinning back. "It does great in a collision," I offered in my truck's defense.**

"Only positive thing with it."

"Do you want me to criticize your car all the time?"

**"I don't think a tank could take out that old monster," he agreed with another laugh.**

**"So you build cars?" I asked, impressed.**

**"When I have free time, and parts. You wouldn't happen to know where I could get my hands on a master cylinder for a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit?" he added jokingly. He had a pleasant, husky voice.**

**"Sorry," I laughed, "I haven't seen any lately, but I'll keep my eyes open for you." As if I knew what that was. He was very easy to talk with.**

**He flashed a brilliant smile, looking at me appreciatively in a way I was learning to recognize. I wasn't the only one who noticed.**

**"You know Bella, Jacob?" Lauren asked - in what I imagined was an insolent tone - from across the fire.**

**"We've sort of known each other since I was born," he laughed, smiling at me again.**

**"How nice." She didn't sound like she thought it was nice at all, and her pale, fishy eyes narrowed.**

**"Bella," she called again, watching my face carefully, "I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad none of the Cullen's could come out today. Didn't anyone think to invite them?" Her expression of concern was unconvincing.**

**"You mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?" the tall, older boy asked before I could respond, much to Lauren's irritation. He was really closer to a man than a boy, and his voice was very deep.**

**"Yes, do you know them?" she asked condescendingly, turning halfway toward him.**

**"The Cullens don't come here," he said in a tone that closed the subject, ignoring her question.**

"Oh boy, worst mistake you can do with Bellsy. He managed to draw out Bella's attention." Emmett shook his head.

**Tyler, trying to win back her attention, asked Lauren's opinion on a CD he held. She was distracted.**

**I stared at the deep-voiced boy, taken aback, but he was looking away toward the dark forest behind us. He'd said that the Cullens didn't come here, but his tone had implied something more - that they weren't allowed; they were prohibited. His manner left a strange impression on me, and I tried to ignore it without success.**

"It is very scary that you always seems to know or feel these things, always know the truth, at least with us."

"Maybe it was written in my destiny that I would find out about your secret Jazz."

**Jacob interrupted my meditation. "So is Forks driving you insane yet?"**

**"Oh, I'd say that's an understatement." I grimaced. He grinned understandingly.**

**I was still turning over the brief comment on the Cullens, and I had a sudden inspiration. **

"If I think you're going to do what we thinks so will this be funny." Alice and Rose smirked.

**It was a stupid plan, but I didn't have any better ideas. I hoped that young Jacob was as yet inexperienced around girls, so that he wouldn't see through my sure-to-be-pitiful attempts at flirting.**

"Oh no... Were you going to... It's awesome. I wish I had seen this." Emmett was almost on the floor laughing.

**"Do you want to walk down the beach with me?" I asked, trying to imitate that way Edward had of looking up from underneath his eyelashes. It couldn't have nearly the same effect, I was sure, but Jacob jumped up willingly enough.**

**As we walked north across the multi hued stones toward the driftwood seawall, the clouds finally closed ranks across the sky, causing the sea to darken and the temperature to drop. I shoved my hands deep into the pockets of my jacket.**

"Let's the show begin. I wish i had popcorn."

"You don't even like popcorn moron." Sighted Rosalie and leaned against her husband.

**"So you're, what, sixteen?" I asked, trying not to look like an idiot as I fluttered my eyelids the way I'd seen girls do on TV.**

**"I just turned fifteen," he confessed, flattered.**

**"Really?" My face was full of false surprise. "I would have thought you were older."**

**"I'm tall for my age," he explained.**

**"Do you come up to Forks much?" I asked archly, as if I was hoping for a yes. I sounded idiotic to myself. I was afraid he would turn on me with disgust and accuse me of my fraud, but he still seemed flattered.**

**"Not too much," he admitted with a frown. "But when I get my car finished I can go up as much as I want - after I get my license," he amended.**

**"Who was that other boy Lauren was talking to? He seemed a little old to be hanging out with us." I purposefully lumped myself in with the youngsters, trying to make it clear that I preferred Jacob.**

"Smart." Jasper smiled and continue quiet. "You would have done good in the army."

**"That's Sam - he's nineteen," he informed me.**

**"What was that he was saying about the doctor's family?" I asked innocently.**

"You know, Bella may be right, she is really good at acting right now."

**"The Cullen's? Oh, they're not supposed to come onto the reservation." He looked away, out toward James Island, as he confirmed what I'd thought I'd heard in Sam's voice.**

Bella and Alice shuddered at the name.

**"Why not?"**

**He glanced back at me, biting his lip. "Oops. I'm not supposed to say anything about that."**

"That is all he has to say." Hissed Rosalie.

"We can talk more about it later."

**"Oh, I won't tell anyone, I'm just curious." I tried to make my smile alluring, wondering if I was laying it on too thick.**

**He smiled back, though, looking allured. Then he lifted one eyebrow and his voice was even huskier than before.**

**"Do you like scary stories?" he asked ominously.**

"It wasn't even a good scary story." Pouted Bella and Edward sighted, of course she would say that.

**"I _love _them," I enthused, making an effort to smolder at him.**

**Jacob strolled to a nearby driftwood tree that had its roots sticking out like the attenuated legs of a huge, pale spider. He perched lightly on one of the twisted roots while I sat beneath him on the body of the tree. He stared down at the rocks, a smile hovering around the edges of his broad lips. I could see he was going to try to make this good. I focused on keeping the vital interest I felt out of my eyes.**

"Yep, she can be a good actress, if she really need something."

"Didn't I tell you that."

**"Do you know any of our old stories, about where we came from - the Quileute's, I mean?" he began.**

**"Not really," I admitted.**

**"Well, there are lots of legends, some of them claiming to date back to the Flood - supposedly, the ancient Quileute's tied their canoes to the tops of the tallest trees on the mountain to survive like Noah and the ark." He smiled, to show me how little stock he put in the histories. **

**"Another legend claims that we descended from wolves - and that the wolves are our brothers still. It's against tribal law to kill them.**

**"Then there are the stories about the _cold ones_" His voice dropped a little lower.**

"And here it comes." Was the thought in Bella's and all the Cullen's heads, Bella shot them a glance that said. I'm so sorry.

**"The cold ones?" I asked, not faking my intrigue now.**

Everyone listened tensely

**"Yes. There are stories of the cold ones as old as the wolf legends, and some much more recent. According to legend, my own great-grandfather knew some of them. He was the one who made the treaty that kept them off our land." He rolled his eyes.**

**"Your great-grandfather?" I encouraged.**

**"He was a tribal elder, like my father. You see, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf - well, not the wolf, really, but the wolves that turn into men, like our ancestors. You would call them werewolves."**

"I wonder, vampires are real. Could that mean that werewolves are too?" Tought Bella and made a note in her head to remember that and look after clues.

**"Werewolves have enemies?"**

**"Only one."**

**I stared at him earnestly, hoping to disguise my impatience as admiration.**

**"So you see," Jacob continued, "the cold ones are traditionally our enemies. But this pack that came to our territory during my great-grandfather's time was different. They didn't hunt the way others of their kind did - they weren't supposed to be dangerous to the tribe. So my great-grandfather made a truce with them. If they would promise to stay off our lands, we wouldn't expose them to the pale-faces." He winked at me.**

**"If they weren't dangerous, then why… ?" I tried to understand, struggling not to let him see how seriously I was considering his ghost story.**

**"There's always a risk for humans to be around the cold ones, even if they're civilized like this clan was. You never know when they might get too hungry to resist." He deliberately worked a thick edge of menace into his tone.**

"Like…"

"Shut up, I have chosen so leave my decision alone."

**"What do you mean, 'civilized'?"**

**"They claimed that they didn't hunt humans. They supposedly were somehow able to prey on animals instead."**

**I tried to keep my voice casual. "So how does it fit in with the Cullen's? Are they like the cold ones your great-grandfather met?"**

**"No." He paused dramatically. "They are the same ones."**

Everyone in the hall keep shooting nervous glances at Bella and the Cullen's.

**He must have thought the expression on my face was fear inspired by his story. He smiled, pleased, and continued.**

**"There are more of them now, a new female and a new male, but the rest are the same. In my great-grandfather's time they already knew of the leader, Carlisle. He'd been here and gone before your people had even arrived." He was fighting a smile.**

**"And what are they?" I finally asked. "What _are_ the cold ones?"**

**He smiled darkly.**

**"Blood drinkers," he replied in a chilling voice. "Your people call them vampires."**

"Oh god, this can't be true, vampires aren't real. But Bella told you they had a secret that could make people freak out. O god." Angela's mind was crazy but she had the same look on face as before. No one spoke and everyone else tried to ignore that and told themselfs that it just was a story.

**I stared out at the rough surf after he answered, not sure what my face was exposing.**

**"You have goose bumps," he laughed delightedly.**

**"You're a good storyteller," I complimented him, still staring into the waves.**

**"Pretty crazy stuff, though, isn't it? No wonder my dad doesn't want us to talk about it to anyone."**

"Then why the hell did you tell her?" Rosalie snapped in her mind.

**I couldn't control my expression enough to look at him yet. "Don't worry, I won't give you away."**

**"I guess I just violated the treaty," he laughed.**

**"I'll take it to the grave," I promised, and then I shivered.**

**"Seriously, though, don't say anything to Charlie. He was pretty mad at my dad when he heard that some of us weren't going to the hospital since Dr. Cullen started working there."**

"Ridiculous, is it better if anyone may die because they have certain believes?" Asked Bella.

**"I won't, of course not."**

**"So do you think we're a bunch of superstitious natives or what?" he asked in a playful tone, but with a hint of worry. I still hadn't looked away from the ocean.**

**I turned and smiled at him as normally as I could.**

**"No. I think you're very good at telling scary stories, though. I still have goose bumps, see?" I held up my arm.**

**"Cool." He smiled.**

**And then the sound of the beach rocks clattering against each other warned us that someone was approaching. Our heads snapped up at the same time to see Mike and Jessica about fifty yards away, walking toward us.**

"Oh, joy." Jasper rolled his eyes.

**"There you are, Bella," Mike called in relief, waving his arm over his head.**

Que to glaring.

**"Is that your boyfriend?" Jacob asked, alerted by the jealous edge in Mike's voice. I was surprised it was so obvious.**

**"No, definitely not," I whispered. **

"And never will be."

**I was tremendously grateful to Jacob, and eager to make him as happy as possible. I winked at him, carefully turning away from Mike to do so. He smiled, elated by my inept flirting.**

**"So when I get my license…" he began.**

**"You should come see me in Forks. We could hang out sometime." I felt guilty as I said this, knowing that I'd used him. But I really did like Jacob. He was someone I could easily be friends with.**

"I'm not sure that is a good idea."

"Why, is it something you haven't told me."

"Well, Esme, Rose, Jasper or Emmett have yet to told you their stories."

**Mike had reached us now, with Jessica still a few paces back. I could see his eyes appraising Jacob, and looking satisfied at his obvious youth.**

**"Where have you been?" he asked, though the answer was right in front of him.**

Only Emmett glared this time.

**"Jacob was just telling me some local stories," I volunteered. "It was really interesting."**

**I smiled at Jacob warmly, and he grinned back.**

**"Well," Mike paused, carefully reassessing the situation as he watched our camaraderie. **

**"We're packing up - it looks like it's going to rain soon."**

**We all looked up at the glowering sky. It certainly did look like rain.**

**"Okay." I jumped up. "I'm coming."**

**"It was nice to see you _again_," Jacob said, and I could tell he was taunting Mike just a bit.**

"That's a good thing." Rose nodded at her words.

**"It really was. Next time Charlie comes down to see Billy, I'll come, too," I promised.**

"Opps, forgot that."

**His grin stretched across his face. "That would be cool."**

**"And thanks," I added earnestly.**

**I pulled up my hood as we tramped across the rocks toward the parking lot. A few drops were beginning to fall, making black spots on the stones where they landed. When we got to the Suburban the others were already loading everything back in. I crawled into the backseat by Angela and Tyler, announcing that I'd already had my turn in the shotgun position. Angela just stared out the window at the escalating storm, and Lauren twisted around in the middle seat to occupy Tyler's attention, so I could simply lay my head back on the seat and close my eyes and try very hard not to think.**

"Well that's it. We should take 20 minutes break. If you excuse me." Said Bella and closed the book before she run after Angela who had just left the gym.


	9. Truth and a bitch

I forgot to say this I last chapter but the riddle: Why are vampires like false teeth? Belong to 9 tailed vixen, and all the other riddles have I found my self, but please send a riddle if you have one.

* * *

"Well that's it. We should take 20 minutes break. If you excuse me." Said Bella and closed the book before she ran after Angela who had just left the gym. She came out in the hall just in time to see the door to the girls' bathroom close.

"Angela. Are you in here?" Asked Bella as she stepped in to the room, she could see Angela walking back and forth completely unaware that Bella was in the same room as her.

"It can't be possible, it's ridiculous. But Bella the facts, no Angela, they can't be, it is impossible. You've seen too many movies. It's just a legend that happens to be about them and fit perfect, it means nothing."

"Angela, can you hear me?" Shouted Bella and Angela stopped dead.

"Bella, when did you come in? I didn't hear you."

"I came just after you. You have a lot on your mind."

"Answer one question. Are the Cullen's human? I mean, they must be and I sound…"

"Why do you wonder?" Asked Bella carefully.

"I have a crazy idea, of why they are so different. But it can't be possible." She stood now in front of the mirror and splashed water on her face.

"What do you think."

"Vampires." The word break the silence and no one of them said anything, at last Bella nodded. "Oh god, this can't happen. They must be humans, vampires doesn't exist, they seem so kind." She started to panic.

"Angela, I want you to listen to me closely." Bella gripped her wrist and looked into her eyes and Angela nodded.

"The Cullen's may be vampires but they are not bad. None of them chose this and they aren't dangerous. Look at me, I have spend my entire summer with them and at their house with only them and not once have they tried to hurt me. Call me crazy but I love them and they are my family no matter what some people think. Look at Carlisle, he works at the hospital and save life's, they are so far away from bad you can be. I would have died last year if Edward hadn't stopped the van.

"Bella, they drink human blood. How can you say that they are good when they probably kill to feed them self."

"Angela, they don't drink human blood and they don't kill humans or hurt them. They are the nicest people I know and have welcomed me to their family with open arms. They care for me and I don't have to be the adult with them. I can be the kid I never had the chance to be my whole life.

I will give you some prof. I have met two kinds of vampires in my life. Those who drink human blood and kill for it and those who drink from animals. And I swear on my life that the Cullen's only drink from animals."

"How do you know?"

"There eyes, if they drink human blood there eyes would be red, but they have golden eyes because they don't want to be monsters. They don't want to hurt anyone, so they chose to avoid their natural ́food́ and hunt animals instead. So don't say that they aren't kind or good. You have no idea how much they have gave up."

"I'm sorry, you really care for them, don't you?"

"You must understand. Jasper and Emmett are the brothers I never got and Rose and Alice are my sisters and my best friends, that aren't human at least. Carlisle and Esme, they accepted me just how I'm with open arms and treat me like a daughter. For once in my life I don't have to be the adult who takes care of everyone else, and it feels a little strange because I have always taken care of my mother and Charlie. Now I have six wonderful people who take care of me and love me."

"You see them as your family." Stated Angela pretty cool for just have found out that she goes in a school with vampires.

"Yeah, I do. I don't really know if they feel the same way. But I love them all."

"I'm sure that they do."

"Thanks Angela. You're a great friend, and thanks for listening to me. I know that this can't be easy for you."

"Easy for me, you had no one to answer your questions."

"Angela, I need you to help me later."

"With what?"

"Do you remember earlier when I said that people would freak when they found out the secret."

"Of course, but I didn't think it would be something like this. It will be a miracle if no one freaks out."

"Unfortunately have you right, a lot will freak out and I need your help to calm everyone down."

"Why can't the Cullen's help you?"

"I have ordered them to stay quiet when the secret comes out. I think that if they try to speak it will only cause more trouble."

"I think you're right. I will help you."

"Thanks Angela." Squeaked Bella and hugged her friend but Angela froze suddenly.

"Just one question, are you a vampire to Bella?" Asked she wary. "Not that I care…" But Bella's laugh interrupted her.

"No, I'm not, my heart beats." She placed Angela hand so she could feel her heart beat. "I'm super clumsy and a human completely, but not for long if everything goes as I plan." She added the last part quietly but of course Angela heard her.

"Not for long?"

"Oh, Edward and I fight about that all the time, I want to be a vampire. I want to spend a eternity with the Cullen's and I work on a way to convince Edward to change me."

"Okay, you're not like most people Bella, did you know that." Said Angela weakly.

"Everyone says that, well, everyone that knows me well."

"So what is your plan?"

"Sorry, can't tell you, Edward has a way to find out everything from everyone expect me, and maybe his family, I think they know how to keep things from him… anyway, he can be listening to us right now. I don't trust him right now, he'll want to know exactly what I tell you."

"They can hear us!" Shrieked Angela.

"Yeah, but they won't judge you for what you first thought. I think you took it pretty well. They already knew that everyone would react that way and they won't hate you. I think my siblings as I call them have said and I quote: "Angela and Ben are the only nice humans in the school."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they liked you, even Rose and she didn't like me much in the beginning, of course she had a reason… well, enough of my babble. You will get more information from the books."

"I just want to check one thing. Let me see if I have got everything right. The Cullen's are vampires who don't hurt humans and drink animal blood, and they don't hurt anyone."

"Sounds about right and they also have super hearing and are incredibly fast."

"Which explains how Edward could save you from the van and why they smile at things because they can hear what we say. Well, I'm sure this wasn't what you expected when you moved here. To get a vampire boyfriend and a new vampire family."

"Vampires. They are vampires." Came a voice from the door, the girls whirled around and saw…

AN: Originally the chapter stopped here but kim67255 my new beta wanted to put the two chapters together. Note by kim67255

"Vampires. They're vampires." Came a voice from the door, the girls whirled around and saw Jessica standing in the doorway, Bella and Angela exchanged worried glances.

"This is amazing, just wait until everyone hears about this." She said with a smile but before she could disappear out of the room Angela ran around her and nudged her into the room before she slammed the door and locked it.

"What are you doing, Angela. Let me out of here."

"Not before you listen to what Bella has to say."

"Why should I? This could get me out of this hick town. It can make me famous."

"You know Jess, I really thought you were different. Are you really ready to destroy the Cullen's life like that? If you stop hanging out with Lauren and study a little more then would you have higher grades and that can take you away from Forks. Hell you don't even need higher grades to leave this place. It's just to jump aboard a plane."

"But it wouldn't make me famous." Sneered Jessica.

"Okay, Angela, step aside from the door. Leave Jessica and go out and shout out the secret but are you really ready to do that, to destroy their whole life? They would be hunted like animals and would never ever again be able to have a normal life. Would you be ready to destroy seven peoples lives just to be famous?"

"But they aren't humans, they are vampires, monsters."

"Don't you dare say that Jessica Stanley. They aren't monsters, they didn't chose this life, some of them even see it as a curse. So don't you dare come and say they are monsters when they do their best to save human life's and you're ready to destroy everything they have built up. If you want to call someone a monster then call yourself that. Because in my eyes that is makes a person a monster, when they destroy someone else's life on purpose. So make your choice right now."

She was quiet for a couple of minutes. "I… I…" She sighted. "Your right, I can't do that."

"Good, well. I guess it's only the three of us that knows the secret for the moment. Should we go back in there?"

"Wait, before we go. What do you mean for the moment?"

"Well, everyone else will know sooner or later, I did figure it out and they confirmed that they where vampires when I asked them. It's time to go back, we must continue with the reading."

"Okay, I wonder what I will tell Ben. He must have wondered where I was and what I did."

The three girls walked out of the bathroom and went to the gym but met Rosalie outside the hall.

"Jessica." Said she in an icy voice, she had, like the rest of her family, heard everything that was said in the bathroom and she wasn't impressed by Jessica.

"Angela" she continues she in a much nicer voice. "Please continue in to the gym. Bella I want to talk to you." Jessica left quickly, afraid of the tall, slim girl.

"Rosalie, I just want to say I'm sorry how I reacted, I shouldn't have had preconceived notions when I was told about you."

"It's okay, you were just afraid, we could understand that." Sighed Rosalie and Angela left.

"What do you want Rose?"

"Nothing much, but I just wanted to say thank you for calling me your sister and best friend, even if I haven't be especially nice to you…"

"I understand that, you protected your family and I respect that."

"It's not just my family, it's your family as well, and it took some time for me to realize that. When I did I was afraid that it was too late."

"It's never too late Rose. You're my sister, have been that for a while and will always be no matter what." Rosalie hugged Bella tightly,

"Thank you, and just so you know, we all see you as family."

"Really?" Bella's eye's were big and a little wet.

"Why wouldn't we, you have made all of us happy, the last piece of the puzzle I suppose. Emmett, Jasper, Alice and I see you as a little sister we must protect and Esme and Carlisle see you as a daughter while Edward sees you as the love of his life. Which reminds me. Edward told me to bring you a message."

"Thanks Rose for telling me that, and what?"

"No matter what you do or say, you will never become a vampire and you two will not discuss it again."

"So if I was dying and he was with me, would he just leave me to die? If that is the cause, then he is the biggest idiot on the earth, and Edward, I know six other vampires besides you."

"He pretty much told you that we wouldn't dare to do anything." Laughed Rosalie.

"Hey, don't you have cousins in Alaska? Maybe I can ask them, I don't know them and they don't know me, all I have to say that Edward is too much of a coward to do anything and won't let you do it."

"A very smart plan but you don't know where they live. And Edward has made everyone already promise to don't tell you."

"Well, they can tell Angela who will tell me."

"Let me guess, you're good at finding loopholes,"

"Yep, but I won't go behind his back. Trust me, when all books are over, he will approve of me becoming one of you." She had an dangerous glimpse in her eyes.

"I think I know why Edward is afraid of you now, and I like it."

"Thanks, should we go back?" Rosalie nodded and they went in and sat down with their family.

"Good speech Bellsy-boo/Darlin."

"Thanks Emmett, Jasper." Edward kissed her hair.

"Bella, you should really give up, I won't change my mind."

"To bad, I have Alice on my side and as far as I know, the vision has not changed, you lose, I know the future isn't set in stone but if you haven't changed your mind before the last word in book four, you will be allowed to purchase as many gifts you want for me."

"Deal."

"Sorry son, but I think Bella will win, she wouldn't make a bet like that if she wasn't sure she is going to win." Smirked Carlisle.

"He's right, be ready to lose."

"She has spend way too much time with Emmett." Giggled Alice.

"Hey, Edward, do you know the answer on the riddle yet?"

"No, I don't please tell me!"

"This is rich, Edward couldn't figure it out." Laughed Jasper.

"Okay I will let you hear it one last time."Why are vampires like false teeth?" He was quiet for a minute, "okay tell me."

"It's so simple, I knew the answer when I was like what, nine years old? Anyway, they both come out at night."

"You have to be kidding me."

"Nope, I figured out that you wouldn't be able to figure out vampire riddles and I was right. One point to Bella and zero to Edward." Grinned she.

"Yep, she has spent way top much time with Emmett." This time was it Esme who said it.

"Well don't just sit there, Angela. Read next chapter please."

"Of course."


	10. Nigthmare

**"Nightmare** " Angela began.

**I told Charlie I had a lot of homework to do, and that I didn't want anything to eat. There was a basketball game on that he was excited about, though of course I had no idea what was special about it, so he wasn't aware of anything unusual in my face or tone.**

"Of course, nothing matters more than the game." Thought Bella sarcastically.

**Once in my room, I locked the door. I dug through my desk until I found my old headphones, and I plugged them into my little CD player. I picked up a CD that Phil had given to me for Christmas. It was one of his favorite bands, but they used a little too much bass and shrieking for my tastes. I popped it into place and lay down on my bed. I put on the headphones, hit Play, and turned up the volume until it hurt my ears. I closed my eyes, but the light still intruded, so I added a pillow over the top half of my face.**

"Bella, that is dangerous." Exclaimed Carlisle.

"Sorry, I kind of forgot that, I will be more careful."

"Thank you, I would hate to see you hurt." Breathed Edward in Bella's ear, and made her shiver.

**I concentrated very carefully on the music, trying to understand the lyrics, to unravel the complicated drum patterns. By the third time I'd listened through the CD, I knew all the words to the choruses, at least. I was surprised to find that I really did like the band after all, once I got past the blaring noise. I'd have to thank Phil again.**

"What are you doing darlin?" Jasper raised an eyebrow

"I'm disappointed, I thought you would be able to figure it out. I'm shutting out the world."

"And it worked?"

"For the moment."

**And it worked. The shattering beats made it impossible for me to think - which was the whole purpose of the exercise. I listened to the CD again and again, until I was singing along with all the songs, until, finally, I fell asleep.**

"How the hell can you fall asleep with that much noise." Exclaimed Eric

"I don't know, I guess I was really tired."

**I opened my eyes to a familiar place. Aware in some corner of my consciousness that I was dreaming, I recognized the green light of the forest. I could hear the waves crashing against the rocks somewhere nearby. And I knew that if I found the ocean, I'd be able to see the sun. I was trying to follow the sound, but then Jacob Black was there, tugging on my hand, pulling me back toward the blackest part of the forest.**

"Well, I guess we know why the chapter is called nightmare." someone mumbled

**"Jacob? What's wrong?" I asked. His face was frightened as he yanked with all his strength against my resistance; I didn't want to go into the dark.**

**"Run, Bella, you have to run!" he whispered, terrified.**

**"This way, Bella!" I recognized Mike's voice calling out of the gloomy heart of the trees, but I couldn't see him.**

"Now is it even more clear to me why it's called nightmare, everything that involves Mike is a nightmare." Bella burst out laughing and Rose smirked slyly.

**"Why?" I asked, still pulling against Jacob's grasp, desperate now to find the sun.**

**But Jacob let go of my hand and yelped, suddenly shaking, falling to the dim forest floor. He twitched on the ground as I watched in horror.**

**"Jacob!" I screamed. But he was gone. In his place was a large red-brown wolf with black eyes. The wolf faced away from me, pointing toward the shore, the hair on the back of his shoulders bristling, low growls issuing from between his exposed fangs.**

"That is amazing, she even got to see the wolf change. I wonder if this means Jacob Black will be a werewolf." Carlisle talked fast so no human was able to hear him.

**"Bella, run!" Mike cried out again from behind me. But I didn't turn. I was watching a light coming toward me from the beach.**

**And then Edward stepped out from the trees, his skin faintly glowing, his eyes black and dangerous. He held up one hand and beckoned me to come to him. The wolf growled at my feet.**

"Excuse me, but did you just say glowing?" Asked Esme surprised.

"Yeah, it's written that Edward's skin is glowing." Angela smiled a little, wondering if it had anything to do with their secret.

"How did you…" Emmett trailed off.

"Instinct maybe, I really don't have an idea."

**I took a step forward, toward Edward. He smiled then, and his teeth were sharp, pointed.**

**"Trust me," he purred.**

**I took another step.**

**The wolf launched himself across the space between me and the vampire, fangs aiming for the jugular.**

**"No!" I screamed, wrenching upright out of my bed.**

"You where afraid of me." Stated Edward sad.

"No, I have never been and will never be."

"Don't lie to me Bella, I heard what Angela read, you where afraid of me."

"Fine, don't believe me, but I have never been afraid of you."

**My sudden movement caused the headphones to pull the CD player off the bedside table, and it clattered to the wooden floor.**

**My light was still on, and I was sitting fully dressed on the bed, with my shoes on. I glanced, disoriented, at the clock on my dresser. It was five-thirty in the morning.**

**I groaned, fell back, and rolled over onto my face, kicking off my boots. I was too uncomfortable to get anywhere near sleep, though. I rolled back over and unbuttoned my jeans, yanking them off awkwardly as I tried to stay horizontal. **

"I bet Eddie would love to be there!" Whispered Emmett to Jasper who snorted and Edward glared at his brothers.

**I could feel the braid in my hair, an uncomfortable ridge along the back of my skull. I turned onto my side and ripped the rubber band out, quickly combing through the plaits with my fingers. I pulled the pillow back over my eyes.**

**It was all no use, of course. My subconscious had dredged up exactly the images I'd been trying so desperately to avoid. I was going to have to face them now.**

"See, you were afraid for the truth."

"Eddie boy, don't talk about things you don't understand. Just wait." Bella smiled angelic and her 'siblings' sniggered.

**I sat up, and my head spun for a minute as the blood flowed downward. First things first, I thought to myself, happy to put it off as long as possible. I grabbed my bathroom bag.**

"What do you put off as long as possible?" asked Jenna.

"Just a thing I wasn't ready to face just then." Answered Bella.

**The shower didn't last nearly as long as I hoped it would, though. Even taking the time to blow-dry my hair, I was soon out of things to do in the bathroom. Wrapped in a towel, I crossed back to my room. I couldn't tell if Charlie was still asleep, or if he had already left. I went to look out my window, and the cruiser was gone. Fishing again.**

Carlisle raised an eyebrow, Charlie seemed to be gone pretty much all the time and from what he has seen from Bella's facial expressions she did not like that he was gone so much. He was careful to hide his thoughts from Edward, he wasn't sure if he was right after all.

**I dressed slowly in my most comfy sweats and then made my bed - something I never did. I couldn't put it off any longer. I went to my desk and switched on my old computer.**

"What are you doing?"

"Just wait, Eric. You will find out when the time is right."

**I hated using the Internet here. My modem was sadly outdated, my free service substandard; just dialing up took so long that I decided to go get myself a bowl of cereal while I waited.**

"HA, only you would think about that. But I'm not sure you will find anything good out there."

"I knew you would get it, Jasper." Bella smiled happily and clapped her hands so he burst out laughing. Carlisle shook his head fondly; he too had guessed what Bella was going to do.

"You really are special darlin. You often act like you're older than you are, like you are something on forty instead of seventeen. And sometimes you act like you are between five and ten years old." Jasper smiled a beautiful smile.

"That's me, blame it on my mother, she acts like that all the time."

"What are you talking about, what is Bellsy going to do?" Nobody answered Emmett and he pouted.

**I ate slowly, chewing each bite with care. When I was done, I washed the bowl and spoon, dried them, and put them away. My feet dragged as I climbed the stairs. I went to my CD player first, picking it up off the floor and placing it precisely in the center of the table. I pulled out the headphones, and put them away in the desk drawer. Then I turned the same CD on, turning it down to the point where it was background noise.**

**With another sigh, I turned to my computer. Naturally, the screen was covered in pop-up ads. I sat in my hard folding chair and began closing all the little windows. Eventually I made it to my favorite search engine. I shot down a few more pop-ups and then typed in one word.**

**_Vampire._**

"That sounds just like Bella. Finding out all the facts." Whispered Alice.

**It took an infuriatingly long time, of course. When the results came up, there was a lot to sift through - everything from movies and TV shows to role-playing games, underground metal, and gothic cosmetic companies.**

"Come on, I'm dying here, what did she find. I'm so going to buy you a new computer."

"But…"

"No buts, or I'm going to embarrass you all the time." Threatened Emmett.

**Then I found a promising site - Vampires A-Z. **

"That's one of the only one that has some true facts." Muttered Carlisle.

**I waited impatiently for it to load, quickly clicking closed each ad that flashed across the screen. Finally the screen was finished - simple white background with black text, academic-looking. Two quotes greeted me on the home page:**

"See, you need a new computer, it's important, what if you need some information real quickly and you can't get it because yours is so…"

"Fine, buy me a new one but for my birthday if you want."

"But that's not fun; you will know what it is. And I already know what I will buy you. Hey, I will buy you 18 things."

"What, no. I don't want that many gifts."

"Well I'm going to buy you one for every year. Then you can't complain because I have only given you one gift this year, and the others are just late from the other years."

"You're impossible Emmett, I'm not going to win this, am I?"

"Nope, and everyone can do it."

"No, it's too much. Max is 18 gifts together."

"Works fine for me." Chorused every Cullen.

"I can't believe I just agreed to that. Em, you're evil, you know that."

**_Throughout the vast shadowy world of ghosts and demons there is no figure so terrible, no figure so dreaded and abhorred, yet dight with such fearful fascination, as the vampire, who is himself neither ghost nor demon, but yet who partakes the dark natures and possesses the mysterious and terrible qualities of both. - Rev. Montague Summers_**

"Well that was cheerful. I don't like him." Stated Bella with a frown, the Cullen's weren't monsters, maybe James but not her family.

**_If there is in this world a well-attested account, it is that of the vampires. Nothing is lacking: official reports, affidavits of well-known people, of surgeons, of priests, of magistrates; the judicial proof is most complete. And with all that, who is there who believes in vampires? – Rousseau_**

"A really fair question." Edward mused

**The rest of the site was an alphabetized listing of all the different myths of vampires held throughout the world. The first I clicked on, the _Danag_, was a Filipino vampire supposedly responsible for planting taro on the islands long ago. The myth continued that the _Danag _worked with humans for many years, but the partnership ended one day when a woman cut her finger and a _Danag _sucked her wound, enjoying the taste so much that it drained her body completely of blood.**

"That one is true, I heard about it when I was traveling around." Whispered Jasper

**I read carefully through the descriptions, looking for anything that sounded familiar, let alone plausible. It seemed that most vampire myths centered around beautiful women as demons and children as victims; they also seemed like constructs created to explain away the high mortality rates for young children, and to give men an excuse for infidelity. Many of the stories involved bodiless spirits and warnings against improper burials. There wasn't much that sounded like the movies I'd seen, and only a very few, like the Hebrew _Estrie_ and the Polish _Upier_, who were even preoccupied with drinking blood.**

**Only three entries really caught my attention: the Romanian _Varacolaci_, a powerful undead being who could appear as a beautiful, pale-skinned human, the Slovak _Nelapsi_, a creature so strong and fast it could massacre an entire village in the single hour after midnight, and one other, the _Stregoni benefici_.**

The Cullen's smiled at that one.

"What?"

"Do you remember Carlisle's story?" Asked Alice.

"Of course, I would never forget anyone's life story, he swam to Italy… That's you, isn't it?" Carlisle nodded slowly and Bella grinned.

"Looks like your famous." Sang she under her breath and her family shook there heads, only she would react that why.

**About this last there was only one brief sentence.**

**_Stregoni benefici: An Italian vampire, said to be on the side of goodness, and a mortal enemy of all evil vampires._**

**It was a relief, that one small entry, the one myth among hundreds that claimed the existence of good vampires.**

"You looked for the one that was good." Stated Rose.

**Overall, though, there was little that coincided with Jacob's stories or my own observations. I'd made a little catalogue in my mind as I'd read and carefully compared it with each myth. Speed, strength, beauty, pale skin, eyes that shift color; and then Jacob's criteria: blood drinkers, enemies of the werewolf, cold-skinned, and immortal. There were very few myths that matched even one factor. **

The students started to watch the Cullen's warily.

**And then another problem, one that I'd remembered from the small number of scary movies that I'd seen and was backed up by today's reading - vampires couldn't come out in the daytime, the sun would burn them to a cinder. They slept in coffins all day and came out only at night.**

"Stupid Hollywood." Thought Emmett.

**Aggravated, I snapped off the computer's main power switch, not waiting to shut things down properly.**

**Through my irritation, I felt overwhelming embarrassment. It was all so stupid. I was sitting in my room, researching vampires. What was wrong with me?**

"Well, when you put it that way you do sound crazy."

"Alice, Bella isn't crazy… well maybe a little but not in the bad way."

"Thanks Esme, that warmed." Joked Bella.

**I decided that most of the blame belonged on the doorstep of the town of Forks - and the entire sodden Olympic Peninsula, for that matter.**

**I had to get out of the house, but there was nowhere I wanted to go that didn't involve a three-day drive. **

**I pulled on my boots anyway, unclear where I was headed, and went downstairs. I shrugged into my raincoat without checking the weather and stomped out the door.**

**It was overcast, but not raining yet. I ignored my truck and started east on foot, angling across Charlie's yard toward the ever-encroaching forest. It didn't take long till I was deep enough for the house and the road to be invisible, for the only sound to be the squish of the damp earth under my feet and the sudden cries of the jays.**

**There was a thin ribbon of a trail that led through the forest here, or I wouldn't risk wandering on my own like this. My sense of direction was hopeless; **

"So that was why you went into the forest." Mumbled Edward who had been quiet a while.

**I could get lost in much less helpful surroundings. The trail wound deeper and deeper into the forest, mostly east as far as I could tell. It snaked around the Sitka spruces and the hemlocks, the yews and the maples. I only vaguely knew the names of the trees around me, and all I knew was due to Charlie pointing them out to me from the cruiser window in earlier days.**

**There were many I didn't know, and others I couldn't be sure about because they were so covered in green parasites.**

**I followed the trail as long as my anger at myself pushed me forward. As that started to ebb, I slowed. A few drops of moisture trickled down from the canopy above me, but I couldn't be certain if it was beginning to rain or if it was simply pools left over from yesterday, held high in the leaves above me, slowly dripping their way back to the earth. A recently fallen tree - I knew it was recent because it wasn't entirely carpeted in moss - rested against the trunk of one of her sisters, creating a sheltered little bench just a few safe feet off the trail. I stepped over the ferns and sat carefully, making sure my jacket was between the damp seat and my clothes wherever they touched, and leaned my hooded head back against the living tree.**

"Good, don't destroy your clothes." Stated Alice and many girls nodded.

**This was the wrong place to have come. I should have known, but where else was there to go? The forest was deep green and far too much like the scene in last night's dream to allow for peace of mind. Now that there was no longer the sound of my soggy footsteps, the silence was piercing. The birds were quiet, too, the drops increasing in frequency, so it must be raining above. The ferns stood higher than my head, now that I was seated, and I knew someone could walk by on the path, three feet away, and not see me.**

**Here in the trees it was much easier to believe the absurdities that embarrassed me indoors. Nothing had changed in this forest for thousands of years, and all the myths and legends of a hundred different lands seemed much more likely in this green haze than they had in my clear-cut bedroom.**

**I forced myself to focus on the two most vital questions I had to answer, but I did so unwillingly. **

**First, I had to decide if it was possible that what Jacob had said about the Cullens could be true. **

"Is it?" Was the question in everyone's heads.

**Immediately my mind responded with a resounding negative. It was silly and morbid to entertain such ridiculous notions. But what, then? I asked myself. There was no rational explanation for how I was alive at this moment. I listed again in my head the things I'd observed myself: the impossible speed and strength, the eye color shifting from black to gold and back again, the inhuman beauty, the pale, frigid skin. **

"You really thought of everything, I have no doubt that you would have figured everything out even if Edward hadn't told you anything."

"Thanks Esme, but I think it would have taken more time."

**And more - small things that registered slowly - how they never seemed to eat, the disturbing grace with which they moved. And the way _be_ sometimes spoke, with unfamiliar cadences and phrases that better fit the style of a turn-of-the-century novel than that of a twenty-first-century classroom.**

"Do we really talk like that?" Asked Carlisle interested.

"Well, Edward does it most, sorry honey but it's true. But I can notice because I read so many books that take place in that time period."

**He had skipped class the day we'd done blood typing. He hadn't said no to the beach trip till he heard where we were going. He seemed to know what everyone around him was thinking… except me. He had told me he was the villain, dangerous…**

**Could the Cullens be vampires?**

**Well, they were _something_. **

**Something outside the possibility of rational justification was taking place in front of my incredulous eyes. Whether it be Jacob's _cold ones _or my own super hero theory, Edward Cullen was not… human. He was something more.**

**So then - maybe. That would have to be my answer for now.**

"I like how you think." Of course blushed Bella at Carlisle's compliment.

"So, are you?"

"Are what?"

"Vampires?" Ben question hang in the air and everyone looked at the Cullen's and Bella. Here we go.

"Yeah, they are vampires." Everyone was quiet when Bella confirmed what they were before someone screamed and soon screamed everyone and tried to hide or run to the doors. Bella picked up the megaphone beside her. thanks Alice, she thought before she stood on the chair.

"Stop and listen to me." she shouted and surprisingly so did everyone stop doing whatever they did.

"Okay, I guess this is some really big news. But they won't hurt any human, you have both my and their word on that. Look at me, I have spent nearly my entire summer at their house and they haven't hurt me. They aren't like vampires in books or movies. You have known these people for over two years. Have they ever tried to hurt someone? They haven't chose this and they aren't dangerous. Just please listen to the book. It will explain everything I know."

"How will we know that you speak the truth?" Asked Mike.

"Fine, let me tell you this, if a vampire drinks humans blood they have red eyes or coal black, and second. Have there been any strange disappearances around here? Has someone died and have no blood."

"Well, not to be mean to you but there were some strange killings before the holidays." Ben said hesitantly

"Right, thanks Ben, it will be in the book. But the Cullen's won't kill or hurt you, they respect the human life. SO if you have any problem say it now or leave." Nobody moved except for going back to there sit places.

"Thank you, Angela you can continue, looks like I didn't need help."

**And then the most important question of all. What was I going to do if it was true?**

**_If _****Edward was a vampire - I could hardly make myself think the words - then what should I do? Involving someone else was definitely out. **

"Yeah, they would have thought you were crazy." Alice smiled a little.

**I couldn't even believe myself; anyone I told would have me committed.**

**Only two options seemed practical. The first was to take his advice: to be smart, to avoid him as much as possible. To cancel our plans, to go back to ignoring him as far as I was able. To pretend there was an impenetrably thick glass wall between us in the one class where we were forced together. To tell him to leave me alone - and mean it this time.**

Edward hopped that she would chose that but at the same time not.

**I was gripped in a sudden agony of despair as I considered that alternative. My mind rejected the pain, quickly skipping on to the next option.**

**I could do nothing different. After all, if he was something… sinister, he'd done nothing to hurt me so far. In fact, I would be a dent in Tyler's fender if he hadn't acted so quickly. **

**So quickly, I argued with myself, that it might have been sheer reflexes. But if it was a reflex to save lives, how bad could he be? I retorted. My head spun around in answerless circles.**

"Not bad at all." Bella smiled and got a kiss in return.

**There was one thing I was sure of, if I was sure of anything. The dark Edward in my dream last night was a reflection only of my fear of the word Jacob had spoken, and not Edward himself. **

Edward raised an eyebrow.

**Even so, when I'd screamed out in terror at the werewolf's lunge, it wasn't fear for the wolf that brought the cry of "no" to my lips. It was fear that _he_ would be harmed - even as he called to me with sharp-edged fangs, I feared for _him_.**

"See, I told you that I never have been afraid of you. Just for you"

"You're amazing, you know that." He kissed her hair with a smile.

**And I knew in that I had my answer. I didn't know if there ever was a choice, really. I was already in too deep. Now that I knew - _if I _knew - I could do nothing about my frightening secret. Because when I thought of him, of his voice, his hypnotic eyes, the magnetic force of his personality, I wanted nothing more than to be with him right now. **

"That is actually cute." Everyone turned to Ben.

"What it is."

**Even if… but I couldn't think it. Not here, alone in the darkening forest. Not while the rain made it dim as twilight under the canopy and pattered like footsteps across the matted earthen floor. I shivered and rose quickly from my place of concealment, worried that somehow the path would have disappeared with the rain.**

**But it was there, safe and clear, winding its way out of the dripping green maze. I followed it hastily, my hood pulled close around my face, becoming surprised, as I nearly ran through the trees, at how far I had come. I started to wonder if I was heading out at all, or following the path farther into the confines of the forest. Before I could get too panicky, though, I began to glimpse some open spaces through the webbed branches. And then I could hear a car passing on the street, and I was free, Charlie's lawn stretched out in front of me, the house beckoning me, promising warmth and dry socks.**

**It was just noon when I got back inside.**

"Wow you were out there longer than I thought."

**I went upstairs and got dressed for the day, jeans and a t-shirt, since I was staying indoors. **

**It didn't take too much effort to concentrate on my task for the day, a paper on _Macbeth_ that was due Wednesday. **

"What, but it's only Sunday."

"Emmett, I'm not a vampire with an unforgettable memory that you have and it doesn't take me five minutes to do my homework."

"Well if it's on any of your romance books. Or history." interjected Edward

"Excuse me for liking history, it's funny and easy. I don't get why you don't like history. You can learn so much from it and we learn to not make the same mistakes like they did… hopefully."

"You are interested in history to, Darlin?"

"Of course. You like it? Can I do my homework with you? It isn't fun to do it with Edward."

"I guess."

"Thanks Jazz, why didn't you tell me that Jasper likes history Edward?"

"Guess it slipped my mind."

**I settled into outlining a rough draft contentedly, more serene than I'd felt since… well, since Thursday afternoon, if I was being honest.**

**That had always been my way, though. Making decisions was the painful part for me, the part I agonized over. But once the decision was made, I simply followed through - usually with relief that the choice was made. Sometimes the relief was tainted by despair, like my decision to come to Forks. But it was still better than wrestling with the alternatives.**

**This decision was ridiculously easy to live with. Dangerously easy.**

"Edward I know what you will say and I warn you if you even try to…" Her warning was cut off with a kiss.

"I love you."

**And so the day was quiet, productive - I finished my paper before eight. Charlie came home with a large catch, and I made a mental note to pick up a book of recipes for fish while I was in Seattle next week. **

**The chills that flashed up my spine whenever I thought of that trip were no different than the ones I'd felt before I'd taken my walk with Jacob Black. They should be different, I thought. I should be afraid - I knew I should be, but I couldn't feel the right kind of fear.**

"When can you ever?"

"OH, I have fears not just the most normal fears."

**I slept dreamlessly that night, exhausted from beginning my day so early, and sleeping so poorly the night before. I woke, for the second time since arriving in Forks, to the bright yellow light of a sunny day. **

"Stupid sun, destroy everything don't you." Mumbled Bella and the Cullen's burst out laughing.

**I skipped to the window, stunned to see that there was hardly a cloud in the sky, and those there were just fleecy little white puffs that couldn't possibly be carrying any rain. I opened the window - surprised when it opened silently, without sticking, not having opened it in who knows how many years - and sucked in the relatively dry air.**

**It was nearly warm and hardly windy at all. My blood was electric in my veins.**

**Charlie was finishing breakfast when I came downstairs, and he picked up on my mood immediately.**

**"Nice day out," he commented.**

**"Yes," I agreed with a grin.**

**He smiled back, his brown eyes crinkling around the edges. **

**When Charlie smiled, it was easier to see why he and my mother had jumped too quickly into an early marriage. Most of the young romantic he'd been in those days had faded before I'd known him, as the curly brown hair - the same color, if not the same texture, as mine - had dwindled, slowly revealing more and more of the shiny skin of his forehead. But when he smiled I could see a little of the man who had run away with Renee when she was just two years older than I was now.**

**I ate breakfast cheerily, watching the dust moats stirring in the sunlight that streamed in the back window. Charlie called out a goodbye, and I heard the cruiser pull away from the house. I hesitated on my way out the door, hand on my rain jacket. It would be tempting fate to leave it home.**

"Yeah, because I haven't really much to do there except cleaning." Thought Bella and sighed.

**With a sigh, I folded it over my arm and stepped out into the brightest light I'd seen in months.**

**By dint of much elbow grease, I was able to get both windows in the truck almost completely rolled down. **

**I was one of the first ones to school; I hadn't even checked the clock in my hurry to get outside. I parked and headed toward the seldom-used picnic benches on the south side of the cafeteria. The benches were still a little damp, so I sat on my jacket, glad to have a use for it. My homework was done - the product of a slow social life - but there were a few Trig problems I wasn't sure I had right. I took out my book industriously, but halfway through rechecking the first problem I was daydreaming, watching the sunlight play on the red-barked trees. **

**I sketched inattentively along the margins of my homework. After a few minutes, I suddenly realized I'd drawn five pairs of dark eyes staring out of the page at me. I scrubbed them out with the eraser.**

"Edwards eyes?"

"No, its was my teachers eye, of course it was Edwards. Em."

**"Bella!" I heard someone call, and it sounded like Mike.**

**I looked around to realize that the school had become populated while I'd been sitting there, absentminded. Everyone was in t-shirts, some even in shorts though the temperature couldn't be over sixty. Mike was coming toward me in khaki shorts and a striped Rugby shirt, waving.**

"Way too cold."

"Let me get this straight, you hate the sun but like the heat." Stated Ben.

"Well, not too much heat, but it can be nice."

**"Hey, Mike," I called, waving back, unable to be halfhearted on a morning like this.**

**He came to sit by me, the tidy spikes of his hair shining golden in the light, his grin stretching across his face. He was so delighted to see me, I couldn't help but feel gratified.**

**"I never noticed before - your hair has red in it," he commented, catching between his fingers a strand that was fluttering in the light breeze.**

**"Only in the sun."**

**I became just a little uncomfortable as he tucked the lock behind my ear.**

Edward growled.

"Edward, be nice now. Who's lap I'm I sitting in?"

"Mine."

"Exactly. So be nice and don't scare them."

"Wow, Bellsy. You have a lot of power over him."

"Thanks Jasper, I think I really scared him that time."

**"Great day, isn't it?"**

**"My kind of day," I agreed.**

**"What did you do yesterday?" His tone was just a bit too proprietary.**

**"I mostly worked on my essay." I didn't add that I was finished with it - no need to sound smug. **

"No, please sound smug in front of him." Rosalie said

**He hit his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Oh yeah - that's due Thursday, right?"**

**"Um, Wednesday, I think."**

**"Wednesday?" He frowned. "That's not good… What are you writing yours on?"**

**"Whether Shakespeare's treatment of the female characters is misogynistic."**

"That's a really good choice. Do you still have it?" Carlisle asked

"Yeah, I save every essay I write."

"Can I see it? I'm interested in what you have to say about it."

"Of course Carlisle, I just need to find it." Bella smiled happily because someone was interested in what she had written.

**He stared at me like I'd just spoken in pig Latin.**

**"I guess I'll have to get to work on that tonight," he said, deflated. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go out."**

**"Oh." I was taken off guard. Why couldn't I ever have a pleasant conversation with Mike anymore without it getting awkward?**

**"Well, we could go to dinner or something… and I could work on it later." He smiled at me hopefully.**

**"Mike…" I hated being put on the spot. "I don't think that would be the best idea."**

**His face fell. "Why?" he asked, his eyes guarded. **

"Because she loves my brother. And what right do you have to ask that, if she didn't think it would be a good idea then it isn't" Interrupted Alice.

"Alice, this has already happened" Bella whispered to her best friend.

**My thoughts flickered to Edward, wondering if that's where his thoughts were as well.**

**"I think… and if you ever repeat what I'm saying right now I will cheerfully beat you to death," I threatened, "but I think that would hurt Jessica's feelings."**

**He was bewildered, obviously not thinking in _that_ direction at all. "Jessica?"**

**"Really, Mike, are you _blind_?"**

"I chose to not answer that question." Mumbled Edward.

**"Oh," he exhaled - clearly dazed. I took advantage of that to make my escape.**

**"It's time for class, and I can't be late again." I gathered my books up and stuffed them in my bag.**

**We walked in silence to building three, and his expression was distracted. I hoped whatever thoughts he was immersed in were leading him in the right direction.**

**When I saw Jessica in Trig, she was bubbling with enthusiasm. She, Angela, and Lauren were going to Port Angeles tonight to go dress shopping for the dance, and she wanted me to come, too, even though I didn't need one. I was indecisive. It would be nice to get out of town with some girlfriends, but Lauren would be there. And who knew what I could be doing tonight… But that was definitely the wrong path to let my mind wander down. Of course I was happy about the sunlight. But that wasn't completely responsible for the euphoric mood I was in, not even close.**

**So I gave her a maybe, telling her I'd have to talk with Charlie first.**

"Well, he will just let me go. He doesn't ask about things like that much." Thought Bella.

**She talked of nothing but the dance on the way to Spanish, continuing as if without an interruption when class finally ended, five minutes late, and we were on our way to lunch. I was far too lost in my own frenzy of anticipation to notice much of what she said. I was painfully eager to see not just him but all the Cullens - to compare them with the new suspicions that plagued my mind. **

"Aww, she remembered us. For a second I thought she only thought Edward exists." Joked Jasper

**As I crossed the threshold of the cafeteria, I felt the first true tingle of fear slither down my spine and settle in my stomach. Would they be able to know what I was thinking? **

**And then a different feeling jolted through me - would Edward be waiting to sit with me again?**

"He would love that. But unfortunately for him, I will sit with you every day."

"Great." She smiled at her soon to be sister if everything worked out.

**As was my routine, I glanced first toward the Cullens' table. A shiver of panic trembled in my stomach as I realized it was empty. With dwindling hope, my eyes scoured the rest of the cafeteria, hoping to find him alone, waiting for me. The place was nearly filled - Spanish had made us late - but there was no sign of Edward or any of his family. Desolation hit me with crippling strength.**

**I shambled along behind Jessica, not bothering to pretend to listen anymore.**

"Well that is nice." Jessica mumbled

"In one ear, out the other, Jess" Bella called to her

**We were late enough that everyone was already at our table. I avoided the empty chair next to Mike in favor of one by Angela. I vaguely noticed that Mike held the chair out politely for Jessica, and that her face lit up in response.**

"Good, then maybe they will stop coming after my siblings." Muttered Rose and they who heard her smiled.

**Angela asked a few quiet questions about the _Macbeth _paper, which I answered as naturally as I could while spiraling downward in misery. She, too, invited me to go with them tonight, and I agreed now, grasping at anything to distract myself.**

"Thanks for inviting me by the way, I had a really nice evening."

"Oh, I'm sure it wasn't just because of us that made it a good evening."

Angela smirked slightly when Bella blushed.

**I realized I'd been holding on to a last shred of hope when I entered Biology, saw his empty seat, and felt a new wave of disappointment.**

**The rest of the day passed slowly, dismally. In Gym, we had a lecture on the rules of badminton, the next torture they had lined up for me. But at least it meant I got to sit and listen instead of stumbling around on the court. The best part was the coach didn't finish, so I got another day off tomorrow. **

"Thanks for that boys. If you hadn't disturbed the class then we would have had played the next day." Bella smiled at the boys who were in her class.

"No problem Bella. Just glad we could help."

**Never mind that the day after they would arm me with a racket before unleashing me on the rest of the class.**

**I was glad to leave campus, so I would be free to pout and mope before I went out tonight with Jessica and company. But right after I walked in the door of Charlie's house, Jessica called to cancel our plans. **

**I tried to be happy that Mike had asked her out to dinner - I really was relieved that he finally seemed to be catching on - but my enthusiasm sounded false in my own ears. She rescheduled our shopping trip for tomorrow night.**

**Which left me with little in the way of distractions. I had fish marinating for dinner, with a salad and bread left over from the night before, so there was nothing to do there. I spent a focused half hour on homework, but then I was through with that, too. I checked my e-mail, reading the backlog of letters from my mother, getting snippier as they progressed to the present. I sighed and typed a quick response.**

**_Mom,_**

**_Sorry. I've been out. I went to the beach with some friends. And I had to write a paper._**

**My excuses were fairly pathetic, so I gave up on that.**

"By the way, can you lie in an e-mail" Emmett asked

"I don't know, probably not, but remember that I fooled Jasper and Alice, I think I get a few points for that." Bella replied.

"As much as it hurts me, she is right. And I still want to know, how you did it." Alice stated

"Well. Everything will be in the book." Bella said

**_It's sunny outside today - I know, I'm shocked, too - so I'm going to go outside and soak up as much vitamin D as I can. I love you,_**

**_Bella._**

**I decided to kill an hour with non-school-related reading. I had a small collection of books that came with me to Forks, the shabbiest volume being a compilation of the works of Jane Austen. **

"Though not many teenagers read voluntary, and almost none read Jane Austen."

"Which I don't get, she is great."

**I selected that one and headed to the backyard, grabbing a ragged old quilt from the linen cupboard at the top of the stairs on my way down.**

**Outside in Charlie's small, square yard, I folded the quilt in half and laid it out of the reach of the trees' shadows on the thick lawn that would always be slightly wet, no matter how long the sun shone. I lay on my stomach, crossing my ankles in the air, flipping through the different novels in the book, trying to decide which would occupy my mind the most thoroughly. **

**My favorites were _Pride and Prejudice _and _Sense and Sensibility_. I'd read the first most recently, so I started into _Sense and Sensibility_, only to remember after I began three that the hero of the story happened to be named _Edward_. Angrily, I turned to _Mansfield Park_, but the hero of that piece was named _Edmund_, and that was just too close. Weren't there any other names available in the late eighteenth century? I snapped the book shut, annoyed, and rolled over onto my back. **

"Can you read it now and how many times have you read them?"

"Yeah, I can read the books now." No one commented on that she didn't answer on the second question.

**I pushed my sleeves up as high as they would go, and closed my eyes. I would think of nothing but the warmth on my skin, I told myself severely. The breeze was still light, but it blew tendrils of my hair around my face, and that tickled a bit. I pulled all my hair over my head, letting it fan out on the quilt above me, and focused again on the heat that touched my eyelids, my cheekbones, my nose, my lips, my forearms, my neck, soaked through my light shirt…**

**The next thing I was conscious of was the sound of Charlie's cruiser turning onto the bricks of the driveway. I sat up in surprise, realizing the light was gone, behind the trees, and I had fallen asleep. I looked around, muddled, with the sudden feeling that I wasn't alone.**

"She would have done great in the war consider how much she notices." Thought Jasper but let the thought drop when Edward glared at him.

**"Charlie?" I asked. But I could hear his door slamming in front of the house.**

**I jumped up, foolishly edgy, gathering the now-damp quilt and my book. I ran inside to get some oil heating on the stove, realizing that dinner would be late. Charlie was hanging up his gun belt and stepping out of his boots when I came in.**

**"Sorry, Dad, dinner's not ready yet - I fell asleep outside." I stifled a yawn.**

**"Don't worry about it," he said. "I wanted to catch the score on the game, anyway."**

**I watched TV with Charlie after dinner, for something to do. There wasn't anything on I wanted to watch, but he knew I didn't like baseball, so he turned it to some mindless sitcom that neither of us enjoyed. He seemed happy, though, to be doing something together. And it felt good, despite my depression, to make him happy.**

**"Dad," I said during a commercial, "Jessica and Angela are going to look at dresses for the dance tomorrow night in Port Angeles, and they wanted me to help them choose… do you mind if I go with them?"**

**"Jessica Stanley?" he asked.**

**"And Angela Weber." I sighed as I gave him the details.**

"So embarrassing when everyone knows everyone." Mumbled Ben. "Can't have any secrets… well, I guess you can have some."

**He was confused. "But you're not going to the dance, right?"**

**"No, Dad, but I'm helping _them_ find dresses - you know, giving them constructive criticism." **

**I wouldn't have to explain this to a woman.**

"Damn right you wouldn't." Alice yelled

"Alice, watch your language." Warned Esme.

"Sorry mom, but it's true."

**"Well, okay." He seemed to realize that he was out of his depth with the girlie stuff. "It's a school night, though."**

**"We'll leave right after school, so we can get back early. You'll be okay for dinner, right?"**

**"Bells, I fed myself for seventeen years before you got here," he reminded me.**

**"I don't know how you survived," I muttered, then added more clearly, "I'll leave some things for cold-cut sandwiches in the fridge, okay? Right on top."**

"Still don't know how he survived."

**It was sunny again in the morning. I awakened with renewed hope that I grimly tried to suppress. I dressed for the warmer weather in a deep blue V-neck blouse - something I'd worn in the dead of winter in Phoenix.**

"That sounds nice."

"Why don't you and Emmett go there after we finish with the books?"

**I had planned my arrival at school so that I barely had time to make it to class. With a sinking heart, I circled the full lot looking for a space, while also searching for the silver Volvo that was clearly not there.**

**I parked in the last row and hurried to English, arriving breathless, but subdued, before the final bell.**

**It was the same as yesterday - I just couldn't keep little sprouts of hope from budding in my mind, only to have them squashed painfully as I searched the lunchroom in vain and sat at my empty Biology table.**

**The Port Angeles scheme was back on again for tonight and made all the more attractive by the fact that Lauren had other obligations. **

**I was anxious to get out of town so I could stop glancing over my shoulder, hoping to see him appearing out of the blue the way he always did. I vowed to myself that I would be in a good mood tonight and not ruin Angela's or Jessica's enjoyment in the dress hunting.**

"You did all right, but I knew there was something else going on in your head."

**Maybe I could do a little clothes shopping as well. I refused to think that I might be shopping alone in Seattle this weekend, no longer interested in the earlier arrangement. Surely he wouldn't cancel without at least telling me.**

"Of course not, that goes against my morals." Edward exclaimed.

"I know that now Edward, but I didn't then."

**After school, Jessica followed me home in her old white Mercury so that I could ditch my books and truck. I brushed through my hair quickly when I was inside, feeling a slight lift of excitement as I contemplated getting out of Forks. I left a note for Charlie on the table, explaining again where to find dinner, switched my scruffy wallet from my school bag to a purse I rarely used, and ran out to join Jessica. We went to Angela's house next, and she was waiting for us. My excitement increased exponentially as we actually drove out of the town limits.**


	11. Port Angeles

Thanks for your reviews, I really appreciate them.

* * *

"Ben, why don't you read this chapter."

"Um, okay."

**Port Angeles**. Read Ben and Edward growled quietly while Bella shuddered.

**Jess drove faster than the Chief, so we made it to Port Angeles by four.**

"I think everyone drives faster than the chief."

"Well I didn't before I met you guys, you are bad influence on me." Bella said with a smirk.

**It had been a while since I'd had a girls' night out, and the estrogen rush was invigorating. We listened to whiny rock songs while Jessica jabbered on about the boys we hung out with. Jessica's dinner with Mike had gone very well, and she was hoping that by Saturday night they would have progressed to the first-kiss stage. **

"Ugh, that's disgusting." Rosalie Grimaced.

"I agree, poor girls that have to kiss Newton." Nodded Emmett.

"Don't be mean, at least wait until he can't here you." The girls begun to laugh and Rosalie gave Bella a thumbs up.

"You have spent way too much time with Emmett."

"Maybe, maybe not." Bella smiled up at Edward and kissed his jaw.

**I smiled to myself, pleased. Angela was passively happy to be going to the dance, but not really interested in Eric. Jess tried to get her to confess who her type was, but I interrupted with a question about dresses after a bit, to spare her. Angela threw a grateful glance my way.**

"I don't think I ever said thank you Bella…"

"You said it with your eyes, and I think we all now what kind of type you like." Angela blushed and Ben smiled and kissed her temple.

**Port Angeles was a beautiful little tourist trap, much more polished and quaint than Forks. But Jessica and Angela knew it well, so they didn't plan to waste time on the picturesque boardwalk by the bay. **

"Sorry, we should have let you…"

"Angela, it is fine. We were there to find dresses. And I have seen it now."

**Jess drove straight to the one big department store in town, which was a few streets in from the bay area's visitor-friendly face.**

**The dance was billed as semiformal, and we weren't exactly sure what that meant. **

"Oh Bella, I have so much more to teach you and Rose can help me now." Alice eyes lights up and she smiled a brilliant smile.

"You know… maybe it can be fun as long as I get to shop for what I like."

"Hmm, you have a deal if I can help you."

"Love, maybe you should wait to decide this until you're alone." Asked Jasper and the three girls nodded.

**Both Jessica and Angela seemed surprised and almost disbelieving when I told them I'd never been to a dance in Phoenix.**

"What, but you are beautiful and have this lovely personality. The guys should have stood up in a line to date you…"

"No, no one liked me; I was just the strange girl with no friends…"

"You didn't even have any friends." Asked Alice this time and looked near to tears even if she couldn't cry.

"Well, I had mom, and Phil, but that is it."

"That's so sad. I'm so sorry Bella. You came here and I act horrible to you just because you tried to find out our secret…"

"Rose, stop, it is fine. You protected your family, I understand that."

**"Didn't you ever go with a boyfriend or something?" Jess asked dubiously as we walked through the front doors of the store.**

**"Really," I tried to convince her, not wanting to confess my dancing problems. "I've never had a boyfriend or anything close. I didn't go out much."**

**"Why not?" Jessica demanded.**

**"No one asked me," I answered honestly.**

**She looked skeptical. "People ask you out here," she reminded me, "and you tell them no." We were in the juniors' section now, scanning the racks for dress-up clothes.**

"Well, that was because no one who asked was Edward."

**"Well, except for Tyler," Angela amended quietly.**

"Wait what?" asked many, the Cullen's eyes grew wide.

"Did we miss something" Asked Emmett.

"No." Groaned Bella and glared at Tyler while Edward shook with quiet laughter.

**"Excuse me?" I gasped. "What did you say?"**

**"Tyler told everyone he's taking you to prom," Jessica informed me with suspicious eyes.**

"That boy has guts, I'll give him that." Laughed Emmett.

"Stay away from my sister." Almost snarled Jasper when he felt peoples feelings for Bella.

"Thank you Jasper, for watching out for me."

"Of course, you're my baby sister, no one is allowed to date you, except Edward."

"We will all watch out for you, so stay away if you want to be something else then just her friend."

**"He said _what?_" I sounded like I was choking.**

**"I told you it wasn't true," Angela murmured to Jessica.**

**I was silent, still lost in shock that was quickly turning to irritation. But we had found the dress racks, and now we had work to do.**

"Oh no, she is angry."

"That isn't me when I'm angry… I kind of hope you will see how I'm when I'm angry…"

**"That's why Lauren doesn't like you," Jessica giggled while we pawed through the clothes.**

**I ground my teeth. "Do you think that if I ran him over with my truck he would stop feeling guilty about the accident? That he might give up on making amends and call it even?"**

"Bella. I like this you. You and I have so much to talk about, do you think you can sleep over tonight?"

"Yeah, I'll just leave a note for Charlie."

**"Maybe," Jess snickered. '"_If_ that's why he's doing this."**

**The dress selection wasn't large, but both of them found a few things to try on. I sat on a low chair just inside the dressing room, by the three-way mirror, trying to control my fuming.**

Edward chuckled.

**Jess was torn between two - one a long, strapless, basic black number, the other a knee-length electric blue with spaghetti straps. I encouraged her to go with the blue; why not play up the eyes? **

"Good work Bella." Alice smiled.

**Angela chose a pale pink dress that draped around her tall frame nicely and brought out honey tints in her light brown hair. I complimented them both generously and helped by returning the rejects to their racks. The whole process was much shorter and easier than similar trips I'd taken with Renée at home. **

"And surely much shorter and less painful than Alice trips." Muttered Emmett.

"Emmett, want to go shopping with me and Alice this weekend?"

"I'm fine."

**I guess there was something to be said for limited choices.**

**We headed over to shoes and accessories. While they tried things on I merely watched and critiqued, not in the mood to shop for myself, though I did need new shoes. The girls'-night high was wearing off in the wake of my annoyance at Tyler, leaving room for the gloom to move back in.**

**"Angela?" I began, hesitant, while she was trying on a pair of pink strappy heels - she was overjoyed to have a date tall enough that she could wear high heels at all.**

**Jessica had drifted to the jewelry counter and we were alone.**

**"Yes?" She held her leg out, twisting her ankle to get a better view of the shoe.**

**I chickened out. "I like those."**

"Me to… but I can only use them to that dress…" Alice and Rosalie shared a look.

"I think we can help you with that… we have a lot of clothes or shops that are inexpensive,… if you want help just ask."

"Who the hell are you, and where is Rosalie?"

"Knock it off Eddie. I know I have acted wrong toward Bella but we are fine and Angela is Bella's friend so if I want Bella to be my sister I must be nice to her friends."

"Um, sure… I will ask if I want company…

**"I think I'll get them - though they'll never match anything but the one dress," she mused.**

**"Oh, go ahead - they're on sale," I encouraged. She smiled, putting the lid back on a box that contained more practical-looking off-white shoes.**

**I tried again. "Um, Angela…" She looked up curiously.**

"Come on darlin, don't be a coward."

**"Is it normal for the… Cullens" - I kept my eyes on the shoes - "to be out of school a lot?" I failed miserably in my attempt to sound nonchalant.**

"And here we go again." Sighted Rosalie.

"You really don't think about anything else." Chuckled Carlisle.

"Well I did just figure out that you are vampires, I wanted Edward to confess." Pouted Bella.

**"Yes, when the weather is good they go backpacking all the time - even the doctor. They're all real outdoorsy," she told me quietly, examining her shoes, too. She didn't ask one question, let alone the hundreds that Jessica would have unleashed. I was beginning to really like Angela.**

Angela smiled at Bella who smiled back.

**"Oh." I let the subject drop as Jessica returned to show us the rhinestone jewelry she'd found to match her silver shoes.**

"How did they…"

"Alice not know." Screamed her brothers.

"Jesus, I just wanted to know."

**We planned to go to dinner at a little Italian restaurant on the boardwalk, but the dress shopping hadn't taken as long as we'd expected. Jess and Angela were going to take their clothes back to the car and then walk down to the bay. I told them I would meet them at the restaurant in an hour - I wanted to look for a bookstore. **

Edward hissed angry and Bella snuggled in to his lap.

**They were both willing to come with me, but I encouraged them to go have fun - they didn't know how preoccupied I could get when surrounded by books; **

"Like when we looked for you and couldn't find you and you came down with a book in your hands and we found out that you had been in our library all the time." Esme smiled.

"You really have interesting books."

**it was something I preferred to do alone. They walked off to the car chattering happily, and I headed in the direction Jess pointed out.**

**I had no trouble finding the bookstore, but it wasn't what I was looking for. The windows were full of crystals, dream-catchers, and books about spiritual healing. **

"They call that a bookstore. There isn't any real bookstore. If you want something so must you go to Seattle." Groaned Jasper.

**I didn't even go inside. Through the glass I could see a fifty-year-old woman with long, gray hair worn straight down her back, clad in a dress right out of the sixties, smiling welcomingly from behind the counter. I decided that was one conversation I could skip. There had to be a normal bookstore in town.**

**I meandered through the streets, which were filling up with end-of-the-workday traffic, and hoped I was headed toward downtown. **

**I wasn't paying as much attention as I should to where I was going; I was wrestling with despair. I was trying so hard not to think about him, and what Angela had said… and more than anything trying to beat down my hopes for Saturday, fearing a disappointment more painful than the rest, when I looked up to see someone's silver Volvo parked along the street and it all came crashing down on me. Stupid, unreliable vampire, I thought to myself.**

"I really love when you are angry at Edward, it's so funny." Laughed Emmett and the others couldn't hide their own smile.

**I stomped along in a southerly direction, toward some glass-fronted shops that looked promising. But when I got to them, they were just a repair shop and a vacant space. I still had too much time to go looking for Jess and Angela yet, and I definitely needed to get my mood in hand before I met back up with them. **

"You really upset her." Esme stared at Edward and narrowing her eyes.

"It wasn't my fault…" Protested Edward with an `innocent 'smile.

**I ran my fingers through my hair a couple of times and took some deep breaths before I continued around the corner.**

**I started to realize, as I crossed another road, that I was going the wrong direction. The little foot traffic I had seen was going north, and it looked like the buildings here were mostly warehouses. I decided to turn east at the next corner, and then loop around after a few blocks and try my luck on a different street on my way back to the boardwalk.**

"You trust your luck, Bella you don't have any luck."

"Well I have some, I mean I got to know you, and I survived…" Bella's stopped suddenly before she looked down.

**A group of four men turned around the corner I was heading for, dressed too casually to be heading home from the office, but they were too grimy to be tourists. As they approached me, I realized they weren't too many years older than I was. They were joking loudly among themselves, laughing raucously and punching each other's arms. I scooted as far to the inside of the sidewalk as I could to give them room, walking swiftly, looking past them to the corner.**

"Bella." Whispered Rosalie in a scared and weak tone. She turned paler even if it shouldn't be possible for a vampire.

"Yes, that's exactly what happened." Edward tried to control the anger in his voice. Emmett's face become serious and he wrapped his arms tightly around Rosalie's shoulders.

**"Hey, there!" one of them called as they passed, and he had to be talking to me since no one else was around. I glanced up automatically. Two of them had paused, the other two were slowing. The closest, a heavyset, dark-haired man in his early twenties, seemed to be the one who had spoken. He was wearing a flannel shirt open over a dirty t-shirt, cut-off jeans, and sandals. He took half a step toward me.**

Rosalie hissed and begun to shake.

**"Hello," I mumbled, a knee-jerk reaction. Then I quickly looked away and walked faster toward the corner. I could hear them laughing at full volume behind me.**

"Bastards." Growled Rosalie angrily and the humans started to back away. Before Edward could stop her Bella ran over to Rosalie and crawled into her lap and hugged her waist. Rosalie looked down and smiled sadly. She calmed down and hugged Bella tightly to her.

"Amazing, Rose must really love Bella if she can calm her down like that." Mused Carlisle to Esme.

**"Hey, wait!" one of them called after me again, but I kept my head down and rounded the corner with a sigh of relief. I could still hear them chortling behind me.**

**I found myself on a sidewalk leading past the backs of several somber-colored warehouses, each with large bay doors for unloading trucks, padlocked for the night. The south side of the street had no sidewalk, only a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire protecting some kind of engine parts storage yard. I'd wandered far past the part of Port Angeles that I, as a guest, was intended to see. It was getting dark, I realized, the clouds finally returning, piling up on the western horizon, creating an early sunset. The eastern sky was still clear, but graying, shot through with streaks of pink and orange. I'd left my jacket in the car, and a sudden shiver made me cross my arms tightly across my chest. A single van passed me, and then the road was empty.**

"I don't like this." Emmett face was really serious and he looked worry.

**The sky suddenly darkened further, and, as I looked over my shoulder to glare at the offending cloud, I realized with a shock that two men were walking quietly twenty feet behind me.**

"Where were you." Snapped Rosalie and glared at her brother. "You've been stalking her for more than a month. Where. Were. You?"

"I didn't know…"

"It was your job to know, if she was hurt, god help you."

"Rose are you…"

"I'm fine, I just worry for my baby sis." Bella smiled and rested her head on Rosalie's shoulder.

**They were from the same group I'd passed at the corner, though neither was the dark one who'd spoken to me. I turned my head forward at once, quickening my pace. A chill that had nothing to do with the weather made me shiver again. **

Rose growled low.

**My purse was on a shoulder strap and I had it slung across my body, the way you were supposed to wear it so it wouldn't get snatched. I knew exactly where my pepper spray was - still in my duffle bag under the bed, never unpacked. **

"No, no, no. Please say you have it with you now…"

"No, used it and then lost it."

"It happened again." Growled all the Cullen's and Angela and Ben looked at Bella afraid.

"Just read the book, I'm sure it will be in there."

**I didn't have much money with me, just a twenty and some ones, and I thought about "accidentally" dropping my bag and walking away. But a small, frightened voice in the back of my mind warned me that they might be something worse than thieves.**

"You are right, it isn't the money they want." Jasper glared at the book like it was its fault Bella was in danger.

**I listened intently to their quiet footsteps, which were much too quiet when compared to the boisterous noise they'd been making earlier, and it didn't sound like they were speeding up, or getting any closer to me. Breathe, I had to remind myself. You don't know they're following you. **

"But they did." Said Esme sadly and Bella nodded.

**I continued to walk as quickly as I could without actually running, focusing on the right-hand turn that was only a few yards away from me now. I could hear them, staying as far back as they'd been before. A blue car turned onto the street from the south and drove quickly past me. I thought of jumping out in front of it, but I hesitated, inhibited, unsure that I was really being pursued, and then it was too late.**

**I reached the corner, but a swift glance revealed that it was only a blind drive to the back of another building. I was half-turned in anticipation; I had to hurriedly correct and dash across the narrow drive, back to the sidewalk. The street ended at the next corner, where there was a stop sign. I concentrated on the faint footsteps behind me, deciding whether or not to run. **

"You should have run Bella."

"It wouldn't have helped me Rose, I'm dead clumsy, I would just fall and they would have caught me."

**They sounded farther back, though, and I knew they could outrun me in any case. I was sure to trip and go sprawling if I tried to go any faster. **

**The footfalls were definitely farther back. I risked a quick glance over my shoulder, and they were maybe forty feet back now, I saw with relief. But they were both staring at me.**

The Cullen's growled and Bella smiled, it was nice that they cared so much.

**It seemed to take forever for me to get to the corner. I kept my pace steady, the men behind me falling ever so slightly farther behind with every step. **

"They were just trying to trick you. To ease your fears so you wouldn't scream or run but walk into their trap."

"I know, I was stupid."

**Maybe they realized they had scared me and were sorry. **

**I saw two cars going north pass the intersection I was heading for, and I exhaled in relief. There would be more people around once I got off this deserted street. **

**I skipped around the corner with a grateful sigh.**

**And skidded to a stop.**

**The street was lined on both sides by blank, doorless, windowless walls. I could see in the distance, two intersections down, street lamps, cars, and more pedestrians, but they were all too far away. Because lounging against the western building, midway down the street, were the other two men from the group, both watching with excited smiles as I froze dead on the sidewalk. I realized then that I wasn't being followed.**

**I was being herded.**

"Where the hell were you, Edward?" Screamed Rosalie and Bella jumped before she calmed down.

"Rose I'm fine, nothing happened to me."

**I paused for only a second, but it felt like a very long time. I turned then and darted to the other side of the road. I had a sinking feeling that it was a wasted attempt. The footsteps behind me were louder now.**

**"There you are!" The booming voice of the stocky, dark-haired man shattered the intense quiet and made me jump. In the gathering darkness, it seemed like he was looking past me.**

**"Yeah," a voice called loudly from behind me, making me jump again as I tried to hurry down the street.**

**"We just took a little detour."**

Edward growled and begged Bella to came back to him with his eyes but Bella shook her head, Rosalie needed her more now.

**My steps had to slow now. I was closing the distance between myself and the lounging pair too quickly. I had a good loud scream, and I sucked in air, preparing to use it, but my throat was so dry I wasn't sure how much volume I could manage. With a quick movement I slipped my purse over my head, gripping the strap with one hand, ready to surrender it or use it as weapon as need demanded.**

"I didn't expect that, but it's just so you." Alice smiled strained.

"That was your plan?" Asked Edward worried.

"Well, the plan is not done yet…"

**The thickset man shrugged away from the wall as I warily came to a stop, and walked slowly into the street.**

"He was acting like a predator." Emmett Growled.

"He is. In a way. I wonder…" She grinned darkly.

"Rose, you're not allowed to hurt them. We have dealt with them, they are in jail." Carlisle's warns.

**"Stay away from me," I warned in a voice that was supposed to sound strong and fearless. But I was right about the dry throat - no volume.**

Rosalie kissed Bella's head and she smiled. It was nice to have a new sister who could protect her.

**"Don't be like that, sugar," he called, and the raucous laughter started again behind me.**

"She is not your sugar." Whispered Alice.

**I braced myself, feet apart, trying to remember through my panic what little self-defense I knew. Heel of the hand thrust upward, hopefully breaking the nose or shoving it into the brain. Finger through the eye socket - try to hook around and pop the eye out. And the standard knee to the groin, of course. **

"Well, I'm glad that you at least know how to defend yourself." Carlisle Sighted.

"It may have worked if it was one, but it is four." Edward reminded everyone.

**That same pessimistic voice in my mind spoke up then, reminding me that I probably wouldn't have a chance against one of them, and there were four. **

"Edward would, and if he doesn't show up…" Rosalie leaved the threat hanging.

**Shut up! I commanded the voice before terror could incapacitate me. I wasn't going out without taking someone with me. I tried to swallow so I could build up a decent scream.**

"A good idea, but the guys sounds like professionals, they must have thought about that and herded you to that place. No one would have heard you." Jasper said and Angela whimpered in fear for her friend.

**Headlights suddenly flew around the corner, the car almost hitting the stocky one, forcing him to jump back toward the sidewalk. I dove into the road - _this_ car was going to stop, or have to hit me. But the silver car unexpectedly fish tailed around, skidding to a stop with the passenger door open just a few feet from me.**

**"Get in," a furious voice commanded.**

Everyone sighed in relief, Bella was safe.

**It was amazing how instantaneously the choking fear vanished, amazing how suddenly the feeling of security washed over me - even before I was off the street - as soon as I heard his voice. I jumped into the seat, slamming the door shut behind me.**

"Unbelieving, you have figured out that we are vampires and you still aren't afraid."

"For the first Edward, it was four guys that wanted to rape me, I think I feel safer with the guy who hasn't done anything to me. For the second, I have never been afraid of you and you have already saved my life, so yes, I feel safe with you."

"Still the strangest human I have ever met." Chorused her new "siblings"

**It was dark in the car, no light had come on with the opening of the door, and I could barely see his face in the glow from the dashboard. The tires squealed as he spun around to face north, accelerating too quickly, swerving toward the stunned men on the street. I caught a glimpse of them diving for the sidewalk as we straightened out and sped toward the harbor.**

"You just left them. What if they found another girl?" Rosalie Screamed.

"They didn't and Carlisle helped me to leave them in jail."

**"Put on your seat belt," he commanded, and I realized I was clutching the seat with both hands. I quickly obeyed; the snap as the belt connected was loud in the darkness. He took a sharp left, racing forward, blowing through several stop signs without a pause.**

**But I felt utterly safe and, for the moment, totally unconcerned about where we were going. **

**I stared at his face in profound relief, relief that went beyond my sudden deliverance. **

**I studied his flawless features in the limited light, waiting for my breath to return to normal, until it occurred to me that his expression was murderously angry.**

"I could still hear their thoughts." Edward shivered and Bella smiled at him.

**"Are you okay?" I asked, surprised at how hoarse my voice sounded.**

"Isn't it Edward who should be asking that?"

**"No," he said curtly, and his tone was livid.**

"How could you be so calm? Wait don't answer that. Bella is amazing when it comes to calm people down, she just have that effect on you." Jasper grinned when Bella blushed and hided her face behind her hair.

**I sat in silence, watching his face while his blazing eyes stared straight ahead, until the car came to a sudden stop. I glanced around, but it was too dark to see anything beside the vague outline of dark trees crowding the roadside. We weren't in town anymore.**

**"Bella?" he asked, his voice tight, controlled.**

**"Yes?" My voice was still rough. I tried to clear my throat quietly.**

**"Are you all right?" He still didn't look at me, but the fury was plain on his face.**

"So you have some of your manners left. I hade begun to wonder if you had forget everything." Esme mumbled.

**"Yes," I croaked softly.**

**"Distract me, please," he ordered.**

"How could you…?" Bella blushed again and avoided everyone's gaze.

**"I'm sorry, what?"**

**He exhaled sharply.**

**"Just prattle about something unimportant until I calm down," he clarified, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.**

**"Um." I wracked my brain for something trivial. "I'm going to run over Tyler Crowley tomorrow before school?"**

Everyone burst out laughing except Tyler.

"Oh god, that was so unexpected." Laughed Angela.

**He was still squeezing his eyes closed, but the corner of his mouth twitched.**

"If I hadn't been so angry so I would have laughed out loud."

**"Why?"**

**"He's telling everyone that he's taking me to prom - either he's insane or he's still trying to make up for almost killing me last… well, you remember it, and he thinks _prom_ is somehow the correct way to do this. **

"You were really pissed about that, weren't you?" Bella didn't answer, she only smiled angelicly and Carlisle and Esme groaned.

"It looks like our children are starting to get to her." Esme said fondly.

"I really don't think that is a good thing." Groaned Carlisle, he couldn't imagine what the children could get up to together. Edward laughed when he heard his parents thoughts.

**So I figure if I endanger his life, then we're even, and he can't keep trying to make amends. I don't need enemies and maybe Lauren would back off if he left me alone. I might have to total his Sentra, though. If he doesn't have a ride he can't take anyone to prom…" I babbled on.**

Once again started everyone laugh but Emmett watched Bella with interest.

"Bella, have you ever played truth or dare with us?"

"No, you are not playing truth or dare at home. I have not forgotten the last time you did it. We had to move because of that, you are not playing it." Carlisle said sternly.

"Damn, it would have been nice to play it with you."

"Jasper, think about your language please." Esme begged.

"It sounds interesting. We can play at Charlie's house." Bella smiled nicely at them and once again did the 'parents' groan.

"She has already learned how to find lope holes."

**"I heard about that." He sounded a bit more composed.**

**"_You_ did?" I asked in disbelief, my previous irritation flaring. "If he's paralyzed from the neck down, he can't go to the prom, either," I muttered, refining my plan.**

"I look forward to playing with you sis."

**Edward sighed, and finally opened his eyes.**

**"Better?"**

**"Not really."**

**I waited, but he didn't speak again. He leaned his head back against the seat, staring at the ceiling of the car. His face was rigid.**

**"What's wrong?" My voice came out in a whisper.**

**"Sometimes I have a problem with my temper, Bella." He was whispering, too, and as he stared out the window, his eyes narrowed into slits. **

"Sometimes? You can't even control your temper." Jasper raised a daring eyebrow.

**"But it _wouldn't _be helpful for me to turn around and hunt down those…" He didn't finish his sentence, looking away, struggling for a moment to control his anger again.**

**"At least," he continued, "that's what I'm trying to convince myself."**

**"Oh." The word seemed inadequate, but I couldn't think of a better response.**

**We sat in silence again. I glanced at the clock on the dashboard. It was past six-thirty.**

**"Jessica and Angela will be worried," I murmured. "I was supposed to meet them."**

**He started the engine without another word, turning around smoothly and speeding back toward town. **

"I didn't want you to go."

"Me nether, but I had to explain what took so long."

**We were under the streetlights in no time at all, still going too fast, weaving with ease through the cars slowly cruising the boardwalk. He parallel-parked against the curb in a space I would have thought much too small for the Volvo, but he slid in effortlessly in one try.**

"Completely mad is he." Mumbled Bella and Rosalie snorted.

**I looked out the window to see the lights of La Bella Italia, and Jess and Angela just leaving, pacing anxiously away from us.**

"Another mistake you did, you forget to ask where they were." Esme said.

"Which Bella will wonder about." Continued Carlisle with a smile toward Bella.

**"How did you know where… ?" I began, but then I just shook my head. I heard the door open and turned to see him getting out.**

**"What are you doing?" I asked.**

**"I'm taking you to dinner." He smiled slightly, but his eyes were hard. **

"Aww, Eddies first date."

"It was my first too and you don't tease me."

"Of course not, you are my baby sister and you are only seventeen, it is normal, Eddie on the other hand…" Emmett finished with a smirk while the students and teachers' begun to wonder exactly how old the Cullen's was.

"And he knows that Rose will punish him if he teases you too much."

**He stepped out of the car and slammed the door. I fumbled with my seat belt, and then hurried to get out of the car as well. He was waiting for me on the sidewalk.**

**He spoke before I could. "Go stop Jessica and Angela before I have to track them down, too. I don't think I could restrain myself if I ran into your other friends again."**

**I shivered at the threat in his voice.**

**"Jess! Angela!" I yelled after them, waving when they turned. They rushed back to me, the pronounced relief on both their faces simultaneously changing to surprise as they saw who I was standing next to. They hesitated a few feet from us.**

"They both were relieved that you wasn't lost or hurt." Edward said.

"How did you…"

"I have my ways."

"This has something to do with you finding out things you shouldn't."

"Right Angela, I just wish my Bella hadn't remembered that…" Bella only smiled happy that Edward never would be able to read her mind.

**"Where have you been?" Jessica's voice was suspicious.**

**"I got lost," I admitted sheepishly. "And then I ran into Edward." I gestured toward him.**

"Well, technically speaking, it was the truth, even if you left some things out."

**"Would it be all right if I joined you?" he asked in his silken, irresistible voice. I could see from their staggered expressions that he had never unleashed his talents on them before.**

"That was not nice." Esme frowned.

"Finally someone who agrees with me. He does that to everyone, please make him stop, it's annoying."

"Edward, you aren't suppose to do that."

"Yes mom, I will stop."

**"Er… sure," Jessica breathed.**

**"Um, actually, Bella, we already ate while we were waiting - sorry," Angela confessed.**

**"That's fine - I'm not hungry." I shrugged.**

**"I think you should eat something." Edward's voice was low, but full of authority. **

**He looked up at Jessica and spoke slightly louder. "Do you mind if I drive Bella home tonight? That way you won't have to wait while she eats."**

**"Uh, no problem, I guess…" She bit her lip, trying to figure out from my expression whether that was what I wanted. **

**I winked at her. I wanted nothing more than to be alone with my perpetual savior.**

"Had some questions to ask."

"Of course, I hate not knowing things."

**There were so many questions that I couldn't bombard him with till we were by ourselves.**

**"Okay." Angela was quicker than Jessica. "See you tomorrow, Bella… Edward." She grabbed Jessica's hand and pulled her toward the car, which I could see a little ways away, parked across First Street. As they got in, Jess turned and waved, her face eager with curiosity. **

**I waved back, waiting for them to drive away before I turned to face him.**

**"Honestly, I'm not hungry," I insisted, looking up to scrutinize his face. His expression was unreadable.**

"Why wait until they had left?"

"Because he had to drive me/her home that way." Rosalie, Alice and Bella said together before they looked at each other and burst out laughing.

**"Humor me."**

**He walked to the door of the restaurant and held it open with an obstinate expression. Obviously, there would be no further discussion. I walked past him into the restaurant with a resigned sigh.**

**The restaurant wasn't crowded - it was the off-season in Port Angeles. The host was female, and I understood the look in her eyes as she assessed Edward. She welcomed him a little more warmly than necessary. I was surprised by how much that bothered me. She was several inches taller than I was, and unnaturally blond.**

"I don't like her."

"Rose, you don't like humans at all."

"Not true, I like Bella… and I can learn to like Angela and Ben, they are nice… but yes, I don't like humans that much. So what?"

**"A table for two?" His voice was alluring, whether he was aiming for that or not. I saw her eyes flicker to me and then away, satisfied by my obvious ordinariness, and by the cautious, no-contact space Edward kept between us. **

**She led us to a table big enough for four in the center of the most crowded area of the dining floor.**

"So she could keep an eye at us." Edward explained with a smile.

**I was about to sit, but Edward shook his head at me.**

**"Perhaps something more private?" he insisted quietly to the host. I wasn't sure, but it looked like he smoothly handed her a tip. I'd never seen anyone refuse a table except in old movies.**

"Well, I suppose being born in the 1900 make him old-fashioned." Muttered Bella and the Cullen's started to laugh while Edward pouted.

"Sorry love." Whispered Bella and sat down in his lap.

**"Sure." She sounded as surprised as I was. She turned and led us around a partition to a small ring of booths - all of them empty. "How's this?"**

**"Perfect." He flashed his gleaming smile, dazing her momentarily.**

"Where you trying to scare her off?"

"Yes, she was crazy, trust me." Pouted Edward until Bella kissed his neck.

**"Um" - she shook her head, blinking - "your server will be right out." She walked away unsteadily.**

"I see, she was really scared wasn't she." Mumbled Ben.

"Good one Ben, good one. Eddie hates when we are sarcastic like that." Ben only smiled at Emmett. Maybe they aren't so bad after all,

I mean they are nicer to everyone now when there's secret is out, and Bella has hung out with them and she hasn't been hurt..." He thought and Edward smiled until he begun to hear some girls thought abouts him. Like Jessica's and Lauren's.

**"You really shouldn't do that to people," I criticized. "It's hardly fair."**

**"Do what?"**

**"Dazzle them like that - she's probably hyperventilating in the kitchen right now."**

**He seemed confused.**

"You where right, she did hyperventilate in the kitchen." Edward said against Bella's hair.

**"Oh, come on," I said dubiously. "You _have _to know the effect you have on people." **

**He tilted his head to one side, and his eyes were curious. "I dazzle people?"**

**"You haven't noticed? Do you think everybody gets their way so easily?"**

**He ignored my questions. "Do I dazzle_ you_?"**

**"Frequently," I admitted.**

**And then our server arrived, her face expectant. The hostess had definitely dished behind the scenes, and this new girl didn't look disappointed. She flipped a strand of short black hair behind one ear and smiled with unnecessary warmth. **

Bella huffed irritated.

**"Hello. My name is Amber, and I'll be your server tonight. What can I get you to drink?" I didn't miss that she was speaking only to him.**

"How rude."

"Oh, she becomes worse. She loathed me because I was there with Edward."

"How do you know, I didn't know you can read minds…"

"No I can't, but I can read peoples body language."

**He looked at me.**

**"I'll have a Coke." It sounded like a question.**

**"Two Cokes," he said. **

Emmett raised an eyebrow.

"It was for Bella moron, I wanted her to get sugar in her system." Edward sighted.

**"I'll be right back with that," she assured him with another unnecessary smile. But he didn't see it. He was watching me.**

"So cute, like a lovesick puppy." Smirked his brothers.

"I remember that you two looked at Rose and Alice that way on prom last year." Bella raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"You are good, really good. We have to talk alone someday…"

"Don't you dare Emmett, you will not turn her to your partner in crime."

"Aww, you aren't any fun." Pouted Emmett and Bella giggled while the school watched interested. They were surprised that the Cullen's acted this way.

**"What?" I asked when she left.**

**His eyes stayed fixed on my face. "How are you feeling?"**

**"I'm fine," I replied, surprised by his intensity.**

**"You don't feel dizzy, sick, cold… ?"**

**"Should I?"**

**He chuckled at my puzzled tone.**

"Yes, you should, normal…"

"But I'm not a normal human."

**"Well, I'm actually waiting for you to go into shock." His face twisted up into that perfect crooked smile.**

"Then you have to wait a long time."

**"I don't think that will happen," I said after I could breathe again. "I've always been very good at repressing unpleasant things."**

"How did you survive before coming to Forks?"

"Ehh, I didn't have supernatural vampires around me and only attracted normal human danger… like falling out of trees, and be in a car crash and things like that?" Bella threw out but got it sound more like a question.

"You where in a car crash? When, were you hurt?"

"No, I wasn't hurt… no Edward, I won't let you see my record. Ever." Bella said when she saw his glance at Carlisle. "Carlisle please, keep it out from his reach." Carlisle nodded at her request.

**"Just the same, I'll feel better when you have some sugar and food in you."**

**Right on cue, the waitress appeared with our drinks and a basket of bread sticks. She stood with her back to me as she placed them on the table.**

**"Are you ready to order?" she asked Edward.**

**"Bella?" he asked. She turned unwillingly toward me.**

Alice and Rose rolled there eyes annoyed.

**I picked the first thing I saw on the menu. "Um… I'll have the mushroom ravioli."**

**"And you?" She turned back to him with a smile.**

**"Nothing for me," he said. Of course not.**

"I hated your smug little smile you had then."

"It was only fair." Bella smiled the same smile again.

**"Let me know if you change your mind." The coy smile was still in place, but he wasn't looking at her, and she left dissatisfied.**

**"Drink," he ordered.**

**I sipped at my soda obediently, and then drank more deeply, surprised by how thirsty I was. I realized I had finished the whole thing when he pushed his glass toward me.**

**"Thanks," I muttered, still thirsty. The cold from the icy soda was radiating through my chest, and I shivered.**

**"Are you cold?"**

**"It's just the Coke," I explained, shivering again.**

**"Don't you have a jacket?" His voice was disapproving.**

**"Yes." I looked at the empty bench next to me. "Oh - I left it in Jessica's car," I realized.**

"Just your luck." Sighted Jasper.

**Edward was shrugging out of his jacket. I suddenly realized that I had never once noticed what he was wearing - not just tonight, but ever. **

"What! This is your fault Edward Antony Masen Cullen." Alice said annoyed. "If you had not been so damn perfect, my work putting your outfits together wouldn't have gone to waste" She stamped her foot in the floor and Bella begun to laugh at her, soon joined more and more people while Alice huffed irritated.

**I just couldn't seem to look away from his face. I made myself look now, focusing. He was removing a light beige leather jacket now; underneath he wore an ivory turtleneck sweater. It fit him snugly, emphasizing how muscular his chest was.**

**He handed me the jacket, interrupting my ogling.**

**"Thanks," I said again, sliding my arms into his jacket. It was cold - the way my jacket felt when I first picked it up in the morning, hanging in the drafty hallway. **

Edward frowned, and Bella kissed his cheek with a smile.

**I shivered again. It smelled amazing. I inhaled, trying to identify the delicious scent. It didn't smell like cologne. **

**The sleeves were much too long; I shoved them back so I could free my hands.**

**"That color blue looks lovely with your skin," he said, watching me. I was surprised; I looked down, flushing, of course.**

"When are you not blushing?"

"When I sleep." Bella said cheerfully and Emmett snorted amused.

**He pushed the bread basket toward me.**

**"Really, I'm not going into shock," I protested.**

"You should have been. After all you just went through." Carlisle said. "But then you never do what we expect."

"What is the fun in that? It is funnier to surprise people with your reactions."

**"You should be - a _normal _person would be. You don't even look shaken." He seemed unsettled. He stared into my eyes, and I saw how light his eyes were, lighter than I'd ever seen them, golden butterscotch.**

"Bella, you are a miracle. I don't think I ever have seen my brother calm down that fast." Jasper said amazed and of course so blushed Bella at the praise.

**"I feel very safe with you," I confessed, mesmerized into telling the truth again.**

**That displeased him; his alabaster brow furrowed. He shook his head, frowning.**

**"This is more complicated than I'd planned," he murmured to himself.**

**I picked up a bread stick and began nibbling on the end, measuring his expression. I wondered when it would be okay to start questioning him.**

"You should just spit it out, Bella. But I wish you had told me first so that I could have recorded his reaction." Emmett said.

**"Usually you're in a better mood when your eyes are so light," I commented, trying to distract him from whatever thought had left him frowning and somber.**

**He stared at me, stunned. "What?"**

Rose blinked. "That was unexpected."

"She always can come up with something surprising and then drive me crazy."

"And you do it to me all the time." Bella reminded him and he laughed his musical laugh.

**"You're always crabbier when your eyes are black - I expect it then," I went on. "I have a theory about that."**

"She worried me there."

"I can't believe you… wait I can." Sighted Jasper but smiled. She would truly been great in the army.

**His eyes narrowed. "More theories?"**

**"Mm-hm." I chewed on a small bite of the bread, trying to look indifferent.**

**"I hope you were more creative this time… or are you still stealing from comic books?" His faint smile was mocking; his eyes were still tight.**

**"Well, no, I didn't get it from a comic book, but I didn't come up with it on my own, either," I confessed.**

**"And?" he prompted.**

"You really drove him crazy." Alice chuckled and Bella nodded proudly.

**But then the waitress strode around the partition with my food. I realized we'd been unconsciously leaning toward each other across the table, because we both straightened up as she approached. She set the dish in front of me - it looked pretty good - and turned quickly to Edward.**

Bella narrowed her eyes at the book.

**"Did you change your mind?" she asked. "Isn't there anything I can get you?" I may have been imagining the double meaning in her words.**

**"No, thank you, but some more soda would be nice." He gestured with a long white hand to the empty cups in front of me.**

**"Sure." She removed the empty glasses and walked away.**

**"You were saying?" he asked.**

**"I'll tell you about it in the car. If…" I paused.**

"Conditions. Good work Bellsy."

**"There are conditions?" He raised one eyebrow, his voice ominous.**

**"I do have a few questions, of course."**

"Of course." Said everyone in the room and Bella blushed again.

**"Of course."**

**The waitress was back with two more Cokes. She sat them down without a word this time, and left again.**

**I took a sip.**

**"Well, go ahead," he pushed, his voice still hard.**

**I started with the most undemanding. Or so I thought. "Why are you in Port Angeles?" **

**He looked down, folding his large hands together slowly on the table. His eyes flickered up at me from under his lashes, the hint of a smirk on his face.**

**"Next."**

**"But that's the easiest one," I objected.**

**"Next," he repeated.**

**I looked down, frustrated. I unrolled my silverware, picked up my fork, and carefully speared a ravioli. I put it in my mouth slowly, still looking down, chewing while I thought. The mushrooms were good. I swallowed and took another sip of Coke before I looked up.**

"Uh oh. You were in trouble, bro." Emmett smirked, he loved when Bella put Edward in trouble.

**"Okay, then." I glared at him, and continued slowly. "Let's say, hypothetically of course, that… someone… could know what people are thinking, read minds, you know - with a few exceptions."**

"You don't miss anything do you?" Esme smiled fondly.

"I try not to, but it was quite obvious. Edward made many mistakes."

"No kidding there." Rosalie groaned.

**"Just _one_ exception," he corrected, "hypothetically."**

**"All right, with one exception, then." I was thrilled that he was playing along, but I tried to seem casual.**

**"How does that work? What are the limitations? How would… that someone… find someone else at exactly the right time? How would he know she was in trouble?" I wondered if my convoluted questions even made sense.**

**"Hypothetically?" he asked.**

**"Sure."**

**"Well, if… that someone…"**

**"Let's call him 'Joe,'" I suggested.**

**He smiled wryly. **

**"Joe, then. If Joe had been paying attention, the timing wouldn't have needed to be quite so exact." He shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Only you could get into trouble in a town this small. You would have devastated their crime rate statistics for a decade, you know."**

"Unfortunately that is true." Frowned Carlisle worried.

"It isn't my fault. Trouble just seeks me out." Pouted Bella and Carlisle laughed.

"We can always blame it on Edward, he likes to be your hero and save you so danger seeks you out so that he can save you."

"I like that." Smirked Rosalie while the students laughed at Edward who glared at Alice.

**"We were speaking of a hypothetical case," I reminded him frostily.**

**He laughed at me, his eyes warm.**

**"Yes, we were," he agreed. "Shall we call you 'Jane'?"**

"Why just that? Why not something else?"

"Emmett just shut up, you give me a headache."

**"How did you know?" I asked, unable to curb my intensity. I realized I was leaning toward him again.**

**He seemed to be wavering, torn by some internal dilemma. His eyes locked with mine, and I guessed he was making the decision right then whether or not to simply tell me the truth.**

**"You can trust me, you know," I murmured. **

**I reached forward, without thinking, to touch his folded hands, but he slid them away minutely, and I pulled my hand back.**

"I didn't trust myself." Whispered Edward sadly.

**"I don't know if I have a choice anymore." His voice was almost a whisper. **

**"I was wrong - you're much more observant than I gave you credit for."**

"I didn't even know half what you noticed."

"Are you sure you are human?"

"Yes Emmett, I'm one hundred percent sure that I'm a human."

**"I thought you were always right."**

"Oh god. Bella you are hilarious… and the only one who can say that and get away with it." Laughed Alice.

**"I used to be." He shook his head again. **

**"I was wrong about you on one other thing, as well. You're not a magnet for accidents - that's not a broad enough classification. You are a magnet for _trouble_. If there is anything dangerous within a ten-mile radius, it will invariably find you."**

"Unfortunately so were you right." Bella muttered.

**"And you put yourself into that category?" I guessed.**

**His face turned cold, expressionless. "Unequivocally."**

"Idiot, you are not dangerous, when will you realize that?"

"Bella…"

"Edward for the last time, you can be dangerous if you want but you aren't because you chose to help people. So stop moping around and pretend you are dangerous to me."

**I stretched my hand across the table again - ignoring him when he pulled back slightly once more - to touch the back of his hand shyly with my fingertips. His skin was cold and hard, like a stone.**

**"Thank you." My voice was fervent with gratitude. "That's twice now."**

**His face softened. "Let's not try for three, agreed?"**

"Damn, we broke that."

**I scowled, but nodded. He moved his hand out from under mine, placing both of his under the table. But he leaned toward me.**

"I wanted to tell you the truth."

**"I followed you to Port Angeles," he admitted, speaking in a rush. **

"But instead of telling her that. You stalked her." Laughed Emmett.

"I'm sure Bella didn't mind, I think she liked it." Bella begun to blush and proved Alice statement.

**"I've never tried to keep a specific person alive before, and it's much more troublesome than I would have believed. But that's probably just because it's you. **

Bella shot Edward a glare when everyone burst out laughing and Edward smiled apologetic.

**Ordinary people seem to make it through the day without so many catastrophes." He paused. I wondered if it should bother me that he was following me; instead I felt a strange surge of pleasure. **

"Told ya." Alice said smug.

**He stared, maybe wondering why my lips were curving into an involuntary smile.**

**"Did you ever think that maybe my number was up the first time, with the van, and that you've been interfering with fate?" I speculated, distracting myself.**

**"That wasn't the first time," he said, and his voice was hard to hear. I stared at him in amazement, but he was looking down. "Your number was up the first time I met you."**

Nearly everyone shuddered at that and shot the Cullen's frighten looks.

"Edward don't feel bad for that. You didn't let the temptation take over, instead you sat beside me for one hour and didn't hurt anyone. I'm proud of you."

**I felt a spasm of fear at his words, and the abrupt memory of his violent black glare that first day… but the overwhelming sense of safety I felt in his presence stifled it.**

**By the time he looked up to read my eyes, there was no trace of fear in them.**

**"You remember?" he asked, his angel's face grave.**

**"Yes." I was calm.**

**"And yet here you sit." There was a trace of disbelief in his voice; he raised one eyebrow.**

"Of course, do I have to remind you that you saved my life?" Belle smiled and kissed him, hoping that kiss would ease his bad memories and fears.

**"Yes, here I sit… because of you." I paused. "Because somehow you knew how to find me today… ?" I prompted. **

**He pressed his lips together, staring at me through narrowed eyes, deciding again. His eyes flashed down to my full plate, and then back to me.**

**"You eat, I'll talk," he bargained.**

**I quickly scooped up another ravioli and popped it in my mouth.**

**"It's harder than it should be - keeping track of you. Usually I can find someone very easily, once I've heard their mind before." He looked at me anxiously, and I realized I had frozen. I made myself swallow, then stabbed another ravioli and tossed it in.**

"Good job, why not just say it out loud. Hey everyone, I'm a vampire who can't keep my mouth shut." Rosalie snarled.

"She did already know my secret."

"But Edward, not to be mean, but you didn't know that I knew your secret." Edward begun to pout while Rosalie smirked victorious.

**"I was keeping tabs on Jessica, not carefully - like I said, only you could find trouble in Port Angeles - and at first I didn't notice when you took off on your own.**

**Then, when I realized that you weren't with her anymore, I went looking for you at the bookstore I saw in her head. I could tell that you hadn't gone in, and that you'd gone south… and I knew you would have to turn around soon. So I was just waiting for you, randomly searching through the thoughts of people on the street - to see if anyone had noticed you so I would know where you were. I had no reason to be worried… but I was strangely anxious…"**

**He was lost in thought, staring past me, seeing things I couldn't imagine.**

"I remembered the panic I got, and the thoughts they had." Edward shivered and Bella snuggled deeper into Edward's warm embrace.

**"I started to drive in circles, still… listening. The sun was finally setting, and I was about to get out and follow you on foot. And then -" He stopped, clenching his teeth together in sudden fury. He made an effort to calm himself.**

Edward shuddered and growled quietly together with his siblings.

**"Then what?" I whispered. He continued to stare over my head.**

**"I heard what they were thinking," he growled, his upper lip curling slightly back over his teeth. **

"You practically admitted that you where a vampire. I can't believe you."

"I forgot, it is so easy to be myself around Bella."

**"I saw your face in his mind." He suddenly leaned forward, one elbow appearing on the table, his hand covering his eyes. The movement was so swift it startled me.**

**"It was very… hard - you can't imagine how hard - for me to simply take you away, and leave them… alive." His voice was muffled by his arm. "I could have let you go with Jessica and Angela, but I was afraid if you left me alone, I would go looking for them," he admitted in a whisper.**

"Edward." Esme said softly. "We are proud of you." Edward nodded at his mother.

**I sat quietly, dazed, my thoughts incoherent. My hands were folded in my lap, and I was leaning weakly against the back of the seat. He still had his face in his hand, and he was as still as if he'd been carved from the stone his skin resembled.**

**Finally he looked up, his eyes seeking mine, full of his own questions.**

**"Are you ready to go home?" he asked.**

**"I'm ready to leave," I qualified, overly grateful that we had the hour-long ride home together. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to him.**

"Well it would have been if someone wasn't a speeding fool." Thought Bella.

**The waitress appeared as if she'd been called. Or watching.**

"She was watching." Confirmed Edward.

**"How are we doing?" she asked Edward.**

**"We're ready for the check, thank you." His voice was quiet, rougher, still reflecting the strain of our conversation. It seemed to muddle her. He looked up, waiting.**

**"S-sure," she stuttered. "Here you go." She pulled a small leather folder from the front pocket of her black apron and handed it to him.**

**There was a bill in his hand already. He slipped it into the folder and handed it right back to her.**

**"No change." He smiled. Then he stood up, and I scrambled awkwardly to my feet.**

**She smiled invitingly at him again. "You have a nice evening."**

**He didn't look away from me as he thanked her. I suppressed a smile.**

"I only have eyes for you." Whispered Edward and Bella shuddered while Edward's family smiled at them.

**He walked close beside me to the door, still careful not to touch me. I remembered what Jessica had said about her relationship with Mike, how they were almost to the first-kiss stage. I sighed. **

"Oh." Edward did suddenly understand what had made me sad for a while, they who had heard him laughed quietly.

**Edward seemed to hear me, and he looked down curiously. I looked at the sidewalk, grateful that he didn't seem to be able to know what I was thinking.**

Edward groaned and his family laughed.

**He opened the passenger door, holding it for me as I stepped in, shutting it softly behind me. I watched him walk around the front of the car, amazed, yet again, by how graceful he was. **

"Which I never will be." Bella sighed.

**I probably should have been used to that by now - but I wasn't. I had a feeling Edward wasn't the kind of person anyone got used to.**

**Once inside the car, he started the engine and turned the heater on high. It had gotten very cold, and I guessed the good weather was at an end. I was warm in his jacket, though, breathing in the scent of it when I thought he couldn't see.**

"Oh, I could see. I just didn't say anything."

**Edward pulled out through the traffic, apparently without a glance, flipping around to head toward the freeway.**

**"Now," he said significantly, "it's your turn."**

"That is the end of the chapter." Said Ben and closed the book.

"It was an interesting chapter…"

"No it wasn't, it was horrible. It was just pure luck that Edward come when he come." Rosalie Interrupted.

"I was going to say that sweetie, but it was still interesting." Carlisle insured.

"I liked the cliffhanger. I look forward to next chapter. Ben give me the book."


	12. Theory

"I liked the cliffhanger. I look forward to next chapter. Ben give me the book." Demanded Emmett and Edward groaned.

"What?" Asked Rosalie interested.

"Emmett wants to read because he can stop reading whenever he wants to say something; this is going to be a long chapter."

Emmett just grinned happily.

**"Theory"**

**"Can I ask just one more?" I pleaded as Edward accelerated much too quickly down the quiet street. He didn't seem to be paying any attention to  
the road.**

**He sighed.**

**"One," he agreed. His lips pressed together into a cautious line.**

"Nervous little brother?"

"Shut up Emmett, I'm older than you."

"Well, it depends on how you count…"

"Just read Emmett, I'm pretty sure that the others want to know." Alice sighed.

**"Well… you said you knew I hadn't gone into the bookstore, and that I had gone south. I was just wondering how you knew that."**

**He looked away, deliberating.**

"Please don't say anything… why do I even try? Of course you are going to say something stupid. I only hope that it isn't something like I followed your scent…" Rosalie huffed, and Edward would have blushed if he could.

**"I thought we were past all the evasiveness," I grumbled.**

**He almost smiled.**

**"Fine, then. I followed your scent." He looked at the road, giving me time to compose my face. **

"Are you kidding me? You actually said that, fine, just give away our secret." Rosalie glared at her brother, Bella twisted uncomfortably, and Rosalie's glare disappeared.

"She already knew everything…" Protested Edward.

"But you didn't know that at the time Edward."

"Whose side are you on?" Edward asked his father annoyed.

"On the winning side, which means that he is on my side of course." Alice smirked before she smiled angelically at Carlisle, who chuckled.

**I couldn't think of an acceptable response to that, but I filed it carefully away for future study. **

**I tried to refocus. I wasn't ready to let him be finished, now that he was finally explaining things.**

**"And then you didn't answer one of my first questions…" I stalled.**

"Good work Bella, you always need to find loopholes if you want to deal with them." Esme praised her newest daughter, while the rest of the Cullen's looked sheepish.

**He looked at me with disapproval. **

**"Which one?"**

**"How does it work - the mind-reading thing? Can you read anybody's mind, anywhere? How do you do it? Can the rest of your family… ?" I felt silly, asking for clarification on make-believe.**

Every human (except Bella) gasped, they had missed that he could read people's minds in the last chapter.

"Can you really read our minds?"

"Yes Angela, I can read every person's mind in here. But I tend to ignore people's thoughts and deal with my own life…"

"Yeah right, you read our minds every day." Scoffed Emmett and Jasper nodded.

"He is right love, why don't you try with 'I try to not read people's mind unless it is something really important that I need to know." Bella offered.

"_They even managed to turn her against me." _ He thought before he sighed and nodded.

**"That's more than one," he pointed out. I simply intertwined my fingers and gazed at him, waiting.**

"Unfortunately, you're the only one that he will answer… except dad and mom…"

**"No, it's just me. And I can't hear anyone, anywhere. I have to be fairly close. The more familiar someone's… 'voice' is, the farther away I can hear them. But still, no more than a few miles." He paused thoughtfully. **

**"It's a little like being in a huge hall filled with people, everyone talking at once. It's just a hum - a buzzing of voices in the background. Until I focus on one voice, and then what they're thinking is clear.**

"That is amazing, how come that you can do that?" Jena asked excited.

"I think it will come up in the book… if not I will answer what we think." Jena smiled at Edward and mouthed thanks.

**"Most of the time I tune it all out - it can be very distracting. And then it's easier to seem _normal_" - he frowned as he said the word - "when I'm not accidentally answering someone's thoughts rather than their words."**

"Is it easy?" Ben asked interested and the Cullen's laughed.

"No, even for being as old as he is, he still has problems not answering our thoughts." Esme explained with a gentle smile and Ben nodded.

"I'm not…"

"Um, Edward, I hate to break it for you… but you are the third oldest person in here except Carlisle and Jasper." Laughed Bella and Edward pouted and everyone's eyes widened at that statement.

"How old are you?" Asked Mr. Varner carefully.

"Don't answer please, I had to wait for a really long time… and it isn't fun if they already know everything."

**"Why do you think you can't hear me?" I asked curiously.**

"Thank god for that… I really love that you can't read my mind." Whispered Bella, and Edward kissed her jaw.

**He looked at me, his eyes enigmatic.**

**"I don't know," he murmured. "The only guess I have is that maybe your mind doesn't work the same way the rest of theirs do. Like your  
thoughts are on the AM frequency and I'm only getting FM." He grinned at me, suddenly amused.**

**"My mind doesn't work right? I'm a freak?" **

"Oh god Bella, he tells you that he can hear other people's thoughts and you think you are the freak?" Jasper spat out between his laugh.

"Well, he did say he could hear everyone else's big brother, it makes me seem like a freak then." Jasper's face lit up when she called him big  
brother.

He wanted to jump up and hug her, but he knew that Edward wouldn't like that. Instead he sent out his emotions and Bella smiled happily when she felt them.

**The words bothered me more than they should - probably because his speculation hit home. I'd always suspected as much, and it embarrassed me to have it confirmed.**

**"I hear voices in my mind and you're worried that _you're _the freak," he laughed. "Don't worry, it's just a theory…" His face tightened. "Which brings us back to you."**

**I sighed. How to begin?**

**"Aren't we past all the evasions now?" he reminded me softly.**

**I looked away from his face for the first time, trying to find words. I happened to notice the speedometer.**

**"Holy crow!" I shouted. "Slow down!"**

"Of anything Bella you chose that." Rosalie groaned and everyone else looked confused except Edward and Bella

**"What's wrong?" He was startled. But the car didn't decelerate.**

**"You're going a hundred miles an hour!" I was still shouting. I shot a panicky glance out the window,**

"You are in a car with a vampire that, in your mind, probably drinks human blood and aren't afraid of him but you are afraid of the speed he is driving." Asked Jasper slowly and Bella nodded happily. The Cullen's snorted, it was just so Bella.

**But it was too dark to see much. The road was only visible in the long patch of bluish brightness from the headlights. The forest along both sides of the road was like a black wall - as hard as a wall of steel if we veered off the road at this speed.**

**"Relax, Bella." He rolled his eyes, still not slowing.**

**"Are you trying to kill us?" I demanded.**

**"We're not going to crash."**

"Well I have really bad luck…" Thought Bella but didn't show anything on her face.

**I tried to modulate my voice. "Why are you in such a hurry?"**

**"I always drive like this." He turned to smile crookedly at me.**

**"Keep your eyes on the road!" **

**"I've never been in an accident, Bella - I've never even gotten a ticket." He grinned and tapped his forehead. "Built-in radar detector."**

"Cheater. It isn't fair."

"You are only angry because I haven't been caught by the police."

"Shut up or you may lose your car." Threatened Emmett and Edward become quiet instantly.

**"Very funny." I fumed. "Charlie's a cop, remember? I was raised to abide by traffic laws. Besides, if you turn us into a Volvo pretzel around a tree trunk, you can probably just walk away."**

"That is true… and with Bella's talent for attracting danger, the chance that you are going to crash is pretty big."

"Carlisle, I'm not that bad and it isn't my fault." Complained Bella and hit him on the arm loosely with a smile.

**"Probably," he agreed with a short, hard laugh. "But you can't." He sighed, and I watched with relief as the needle gradually drifted toward eighty. "Happy?"**

**"Almost."**

**"I hate driving slow," he muttered.**

**"This is slow?"**

**"Enough commentary on my driving," he snapped.**

"He snapped at you, Edward Cullen. She was just worried and is a human, no offense Bella, if you crash in the speed you were driving, the chance that Bella would survive is 0.01. So listen to her, I swear she is smarter than you." Alice snapped at her brother.

**"I'm still waiting for your latest theory."**

**I bit my lip. He looked down at me, his honey eyes unexpectedly gentle.**

**"I won't laugh," he promised.**

**"I'm more afraid that you'll be angry with me."**

"Wouldn't surprise me, his mood changes faster than a pregnant woman with hormones." Jasper grumbled, and Bella stared at Edward surprised, before she began to laugh at him.

**"Is it that bad?"**

**"Pretty much, yeah."**

**He waited. I was looking down at my hands, so I couldn't see his expression.**

**"Go ahead." His voice was calm.**

**"I don't know how to start," I admitted.**

**"Why don't you start at the beginning… you said you didn't come up with  
this on your own."**

**"No."**

**"What got you started - a book? A movie?" he probed.**

"She is way more creative than that." Smirked Ben.

**"No - it was Saturday, at the beach." I risked a glance up at his face. He looked puzzled.**

"Well, I couldn't think of anyone who knew our secret first so I was very confused."

"Yes, I got Edward Cullen to admit that he can be confused and doesn't know everything."

"Oh god, when did you spent time with Emmett?" Edward asked with a groan.

"You remember that weekend I was supposed to spend with Alice… well, I convinced her to go shopping and she brought Rose with her… and Jasper, Carlisle and Esme were with you…"

"You spent the whole weekend alone with Emmett… That's it, we are doomed." Jasper groaned, but winked at Bella when no one saw.

"Alice, I can't believe you left her alone with Emmett, you know how he is…" Edward glared at his sister, who hid behind Jasper with a nervous smile. Rose smiled at her husband while their parents sighed.

"Hey, I take offense to that." Pouted Emmett.

"So Em, what exactly happened?" Asked Edward with a raised eyebrow, and Emmett continued to read quickly, his silence said enough.

**"I ran into an old family friend - Jacob Black," I continued.**

**"His dad and Charlie have been friends since I was a baby."**

**He still looked confused.**

"You forgot?"

"Bella is too beautiful or I would be able to remember that." Edward smiled and kissed Bella's cheek, her cheeks turned red and her heart fluttered.

**"His dad is one of the Quileute elders." I watched him carefully. His confused expression froze in place.**

**"We went for a walk -" I edited all my scheming out of the story **

**"- and he was telling me some old legends - trying to scare me, I think. He told me one…" I hesitated.**

**"Go on," he said.**

**"About vampires." I realized I was whispering. I couldn't look at his face now. But I saw his knuckles tighten convulsively on the wheel.**

**"And you immediately thought of me?" Still calm.**

"Of course, he just said the word and I immediately thought of you, because you are so like the vampires on TV or in books."

"Yep, she has spent time with Emmett." Edward groaned, while Emmett gave Bella a high five.

**"No. He… mentioned your family."**

**He was silent, staring at the road.**

**I was worried suddenly, worried about protecting Jacob.**

"Don't worry about him, it's not like we are going to attack them for breaking the truce." Jasper shook his head.

**"He just thought it was a silly superstition," I said quickly.**

**"He didn't expect me to think anything of it." It didn't seem like enough; I had to confess. **

**"It was my fault, I forced him to tell me."**

**"Why?"**

**"Lauren said something about you - she was trying to provoke me. And an older boy from the tribe said your family didn't come to the reservation, only it sounded like he meant something different. **

"I still can't believe how you don't miss a thing." Esme smiled kindly.

"It is just a talent I have."

**So I got Jacob alone and I tricked it out of him," I admitted, hanging my head.**

"Yeah, who knew you were so good at flirting Bellsy-boo." Emmett smirked, and Rosalie hit him over the head.

"Be nice to my baby sister."

"Hey, she is my baby sister too." Emmett whined.

"Well, we are married, and she is dating our brother and we both see her as a sister, so she is our baby sister. Happy?" Rosalie shook her head fondly, when Emmett nodded with a goofy smile.

**He startled me by laughing. I glared up at him. He was laughing, but his eyes were fierce, staring ahead.**

**"Tricked him how?" he asked.**

**"I tried to flirt - it worked better than I thought it would." Disbelief colored my tone as I remembered.**

"I think that was like the first time I flirted… no, wait… I did something similar when I was fifteen… Not that it helped." Alice and Rose snorted when they heard that, while Edward pouted at the fact that she flirted.

**"I'd like to have seen that." He chuckled darkly. "And you  
accused me of dazzling people - poor Jacob Black."**

"You aren't sorry for him, are you?"

"No, not at all." Edward smiled and Bella shook her head, happy that he was honest with her.

**I blushed and looked out my window into the night.**

"You always blush, like now." Smirked Emmett and sniggered when Bella blushed even more.

**"What did you do then?" he asked after a minute.**

"She ran out and shouted out our secret to everyone who wanted to listen. I wonder how people would have reacted…"

"Many would scoff at the idea… but many would probably put things together and realize that it is true…" Carlisle mused and Esme leaned against his shoulder.

"I wonder how many there are that wouldn't say anything to other people." Jasper wondered.

"Beside Bella, honestly not many, just in Forks maybe one, or two?" Alice questioned.

**"I did some research on the Internet."**

"That is something only you would do." Edward laughed and kissed her, Bella began to blush when she noticed that his whole family beamed at the two of them, Carlisle winked when he saw that and her blush deepened to Emmett's joy.

**"And did that convince you?" His voice sounded barely interested.  
But his hands were clamped hard onto the steering wheel.**

"I'm surprise you haven't broke it yet." Rosalie snorted.

"Please Rose, you know Edward, he would never hurt his precious car." Bella smirked, and the Cullens burst out laughing, with the rest of the school right behind.

"Nice darlin', really nice. Spending time with Emmett wasn't a bad idea. Before you wouldn't have dared to say that in front of the whole school, don't give me the eyes, you know it is true." Bella giggled and hid herself in Edward's chest.

**"No. Nothing fit. Most of it was kind of silly. And then…" I stopped.**

"Good luck explaining that you don't care about that, I have a feeling he won't take it that well." Ben smiled and Bella nodded furiously.

**"What?"**

**"I decided it didn't matter," I whispered.**

**"It didn't _matter_?" His tone made me look up - I had finally broken through his carefully composed mask. His face was incredulous, with just a hint of the anger I'd feared.**

"I'm sorry Bella, I didn't mean to make you upset it was just…"

"It's okay Edward, I love you and that is all that matters. Okay."

**"No," I said softly. "It doesn't matter to me what you are." A hard, mocking edge entered his voice. "You don't care if I'm a monster? If I'm not _human_!"**

"Alice, Rose, can you…" Bella asked and Alice and Rose hit him over the head.

"Oww, what was that for."

"That was for calling yourself a monster when you clearly aren't. Every time you say that I will have someone hit you, until you realize that you are wrong."

"But..."

"No buts. I know you aren't a monster. You have to trust me. Don't ever let me hear anything like that again."

"You are so whipped bro." Whispered Jasper and Emmett sniggered, while Edward glared at them.

**"No." He was silent, staring straight ahead again. His face was bleak and cold.**

**"You're angry," I sighed. "I shouldn't have said anything."**

**"No," he said, but his tone was as hard as his face. "I'd rather know what you're thinking - even if what you're thinking is insane."**

"That will just make her think she is wrong." Esme sighed and Edward gave her a smile.

**"So I'm wrong again?" I challenged.**

**"That's not what I was referring to. 'It doesn't matter'!" he quoted, gritting his teeth together.**

**"I'm right?" I gasped.**

"I thought…"

"Well it isn't every day that the person you really like confirm that he is a vampire, is it?"

"Well… no, you are right."

"Seriously, you had to think about that!" Snorted Alice.

**"Does it _matter_?"**

**I took a deep breath.**

**"Not really." I paused. "But I _am_ curious." **

"When aren't you?" Asked Edward against her hair.

"Before I came here. I always knew what to expect, now it feels like there is something new around every corner."

**My voice, at least, was composed.**

**He was suddenly resigned. "What are you curious about?"**

**"How old are you?"**

Every human sat up straighter, eager to know the answer.

**"Seventeen," he answered promptly.**

"Well, duh." Emmett shook his head.

**"And how long have you been seventeen?"**

**His lips twitched as he stared at the road. "A while," he admitted at last.**

"Don't worry, he tells me later."

**"Okay." I smiled, pleased that he was still being honest with me. He stared down at me with watchful eyes, much as he had before, when he was worried I would go into shock. I smiled wider in encouragement, and he frowned.**

**"Don't laugh - but how can you come out during the daytime?"**

Bella blushed when the Cullens burst out laughing.

"Sorry Bella, but, like you know, Hollywood is wrong in their ideas."

"It's okay Carlisle. Personally, I like how wrong they are." Bella mumbled with her face hidden in Edward's shirt.

**He laughed anyway. "Myth."**

**"Burned by the sun?"**

**"Myth."**

**"Sleeping in coffins?"**

Bella smirked, knowing what would come.

"They are really uncomfortable." Whispered Emmett and Bella looked at him.

"He wanted to try that because he is a vampire." Stated Rosalie and rolled her eyes.

**"Myth." He hesitated for a moment, and a peculiar tone entered his voice. "I can't sleep."**

Everyone grew quiet and stared at the Cullen's with wide eyes. Bella could swear that everyone stopped breathing and smiled wider when she saw Lauren's mouth dropped.

"Well, I think we broke them. So I can just take these books and throw them…"

"No way Bella, I want to know what you think." Edward interrupted.

"Dang, so close." Muttered Bella but she smiled. "You know, they are more shocked than I was."

"Well, you don't react like a normal human. I will just start reading again."

**It took me a minute to absorb that. "At all?"**

**"Never," he said, his voice nearly inaudible. He turned to look at me with a wistful expression. The golden eyes held mine, and I lost my train of thought. I stared at him until he looked away.**

"Isn't that boring? That you can never sleep." Asked Jessica.

"Well, we have a lot spare time to do whatever we want and I'm never bored since I found Bella."

"Yeah, you better pray my dad won't find out or you are dead… or will just lose your male parts." Bella smiled and cuddled deeper into his embrace, while females, like Lauren and Jessica, stared jealously at Bella.

**"You haven't asked me the most important question yet." His voice was hard now, and when he looked at me again his eyes were cold. **

**I blinked, still dazed. "Which one is that?"**

"Yep, that is our Bella, my best friend. The person who hangs out with vampires but forgot to ask what they eat." Snorted Alice and started to comb Bella's hair with her fingers.

**"You aren't concerned about my diet?" he asked sarcastically.**

**"Oh," I murmured, "that."**

**"Yes, that." His voice was bleak. "Don't you want to know if I drink blood?"**

**I flinched. "Well, Jacob said something about that."**

**"What did Jacob say?" he asked flatly.**

"Is someone jealous of a kid?" Snorted Emmett and Rosalie hit him, again with a warning to be nice.

**"He said you didn't… hunt people. He said your family wasn't supposed to be dangerous because you only hunted animals."**

**"He said we weren't dangerous?" His voice was deeply skeptical.**

"Wow, you really listen to me, don't you Edward." Edward smiled sheepishly at his girlfriend.

**"Not exactly. He said you weren't _supposed_ to be dangerous. But the Quileutes still didn't want you on their land, just in case." He looked forward, but I couldn't tell if he was watching the road or not.**

**"So was he right? About not hunting people?" I tried to keep my voice as even as possible.**

**"The Quileutes have a long memory," he whispered. I took it as a confirmation.**

"You really should have given her a real answer Edward." Esme frowned and Edward apologized to Bella.

**"Don't let that make you complacent, though," he warned me. "They're right to keep their distance from us. We are still dangerous."**

"Yeah, you save my life and claim you are a dangerous monster." Bella rolled her eyes.

"Don't say anything Edward. I know vampires are dangerous, probably more than I would have liked but that's not the point, the point is that you can be dangerous but you all try you hardest not to be." Bella smiled and kissed his cheek.

**"I don't understand."**

**"We try," he explained slowly. "We're usually very good at what we do. Sometimes we make mistakes. Me, for example, allowing myself to be alone with you."**

**"This is a mistake?" I heard the sadness in my voice, but I didn't know if he could as well.**

"I did, but I thought it just was my imagination."

**"A very dangerous one," he murmured.**

**We were both silent then. I watched the headlights twist with the curves of the road. They moved too fast; it didn't look real, it looked like a video game. I was aware of the time slipping away so quickly, like the black road beneath us, and I was hideously afraid that I would never have another chance to be with him like this again - openly, the walls between us gone for once. His words hinted at an end, and I recoiled from the idea. I couldn't waste one minute I had with him.**

**"Tell me more," I asked desperately, not caring what he said, just so I could hear his voice again. **

"That is so cute." Sighed Esme, lovingly and Carlisle kissed her temple with a smile.

**He looked at me quickly, startled by the change in my tone. "What more do you want to know?"**

**"Tell me why you hunt animals instead of people," I suggested, my voice still tinged with desperation. I realized my eyes were wet, and I fought against the grief that was trying to overpower me.**

**"I don't _want _to be a monster." His voice was very low.**

"And you aren't and will never be." Stated Esme.

**"But animals aren't enough?"**

"How can you be so calm?"

"I think it is because I have never fit in anywhere... and I just felt like something drew me to the Cullen's, especially Edward. I know that they wont hurt me, I have always known that. Why should I panic when the van would have killed me if they weren't vampires." Explained Bella and many grew quiet, wondering over her words.

**He paused. "I can't be sure, of course, but I'd compare it to living on tofu and soy milk; we call ourselves vegetarians, our little inside joke. It doesn't completely satiate the hunger - or rather thirst. But it keeps us strong enough to resist. Most of the time." His tone turned ominous. **

**"Sometimes it's more difficult than others."**

**"Is it very difficult for you now?" I asked.**

**He sighed. "Yes."**

**"But you're not hungry now," I said confidently - stating, not asking.**

"What, how the hell could you know that?" Asked Jasper in disbelief.

**"Why do you think that?"**

**"Your eyes. I told you I had a theory. I've noticed that people - men in particular - are crabbier when they're hungry."**

"We really didn't realize how much you noticed, Edward didn't need to give you clues to figure everything out. You would have done it by yourself." Rosalie shook her head in amazement.

**He chuckled. "You are observant, aren't you?"**

"Understatement of the year." Snorted Alice.

**I didn't answer; I just listened to the sound of his laugh, committing it to memory.**

**"Were you hunting this weekend, with Emmett?" I asked when it was quiet again.**

**"Yes." He paused for a second, as if deciding whether or not to say something. **

**"I didn't want to leave, but it was necessary. It's a bit easier to be around you when I'm not thirsty."**

**"Why didn't you want to leave?"**

**"It makes me… anxious… to be away from you." **

**His eyes were gentle but intense, and they seemed to be making my bones turn soft.**

"Aww, this is the perfect love story. A human and a vampire who falls in love and it's probably against some kind of law." Angela clapped her hands in excitement.

**"I wasn't joking when I asked you to try not to fall in the ocean or get run over last Thursday. I was distracted all weekend, worrying about you. **

"Are you kidding me, you took away all the fun. What if Bella got run over by a car, what if she is hit by a falling tree, what if she drowns, what if she is attacked by a bear in a tutu. It never ended." Groaned Emmett and Bella burst out laughing.

"Seriously, a bear in a tutu?" Snorted Eric.

"I never said that." Edward complained

"Well, you could have."

**And after what happened tonight, I'm surprised that you did make it through a whole weekend unscathed." He shook his head, and then seemed to remember something. "Well, not totally unscathed."**

**"What?"**

**"Your hands," he reminded me. I looked down at my palms, at the almost-healed scrapes across the heels of my hands. His eyes missed nothing.**

"Well sorry, it isn't my fault I'm so clumsy."

**"I fell," I sighed.**

**"That's what I thought." His lips curved up at the corners. "I suppose, being you, it could have been much worse - and that possibility tormented me the entire time I was away. It was a very long three days. I really got on Emmett's nerves." He smiled ruefully at me.**

"Understatement. Couldn't enjoy myself because you were so worried." Emmett mumbled.

**"Three days? Didn't you just get back today?"**

**"No, we got back Sunday."**

**"Then why weren't any of you in school?" I was frustrated, almost angry as I thought of how much disappointment I had suffered because of his absence.**

**"Well, you asked if the sun hurt me, and it doesn't. But I can't go out in the sunlight - at least, not where anyone can see."**

"Why?" Asked nearly everyone but got no answer.

**"Why?"**

**"I'll show you sometime," he promised.**

**I thought about it for a moment.**

**"You might have called me," I decided.**

**He was puzzled. "But I knew you were safe."**

"Boys." Sighed Esme, Rosalie and Alice.

**"But _I_ didn't know where _you _were. I -" I hesitated, dropping my eyes.**

**"What?" His velvety voice was compelling.**

**"I didn't like it. Not seeing you. It makes me anxious, too." I blushed to be saying this out loud.**

**He was quiet. I glanced up, apprehensive, and saw that his expression was pained.**

**"Ah," he groaned quietly. "This is wrong."**

"No, it is love." Sighted Alice

"Yes it is." Whispered Edward against Bella's neck, causing her to shiver.

**I couldn't understand his response. "What did I say?"**

**"Don't you see, Bella? It's one thing for me to make myself miserable, but a wholly other thing for you to be so involved." He turned his anguished eyes to the road, his words flowing almost too fast for me to understand. "I don't want to hear that you feel that way." His voice was low but urgent. His words cut me. **

**"It's wrong. It's not safe. I'm dangerous, Bella - please, grasp that."**

**"No." I tried very hard not to look like a sulky child.**

**"I'm serious," he growled.**

**"So am I. I told you, it doesn't matter what you are. It's too late."**

**His voice whipped out, low and harsh. "Never say that."**

**I bit my lip and was glad he couldn't know how much that hurt. I stared out at the road. We must be close now. He was driving much too fast.**

"You idiot! You hurt her, think of what you say to my little sister." Bella blushed and looked down at her knees.

**"What are you thinking?" he asked, his voice still raw. I just shook my head, not sure if I could speak. I could feel his gaze on my face, but I kept my eyes forward.**

**"Are you crying?" He sounded appalled. I hadn't realized the moisture in my eyes had brimmed over. I quickly rubbed my hand across my cheek, and sure enough, traitor tears were there, betraying me.**

"Stupid tears are always betraying me." Mumbled Bella under her breath.

**"No," I said, but my voice cracked.**

**I saw him reach toward me hesitantly with his right hand, but then he stopped and placed it slowly back on the steering wheel.**

**"I'm sorry." His voice burned with regret. I knew he wasn't just apologizing for the words that had upset me.**

**The darkness slipped by us in silence.**

**"Tell me something," he asked after another minute, and I could hear him struggle to use a lighter tone.**

**"Yes?"**

**"What were you thinking tonight, just before I came around the corner? I couldn't understand your expression - you didn't look that scared, you looked like you were concentrating very hard on something."**

"I didn't expect that she was thinking about fighting them."

**"I was trying to remember how to incapacitate an attacker - you know, self-defense. I was going to smash his nose into his brain." I thought of the dark-haired man with a surge of hate.**

"No offense, but it would be interesting to see Bellsy fight like that, under other conditions of course."

**"You were going to fight them?" This upset him. "Didn't you think about running?"**

**"I fall down a lot when I run," I admitted.**

**"What about screaming for help?"**

**"I was getting to that part." He shook his head. "You were right - I'm definitely fighting fate trying to keep you alive."**

"Not my fault, trouble just likes to find me."

**I sighed. We were slowing, passing into the boundaries of Forks. It had taken less than twenty minutes.**

"What." Cried Johanna, a girl who just had started high school

"One thing to know, they all like to drive fast. All of them." Bella shook her head, like she couldn't understand that.

**"Will I see you tomorrow?" I demanded.**

**"Yes - I have a paper due, too." He smiled. **

**"I'll save you a seat at lunch."**

**It was silly, after everything we'd been through tonight, how that little promise sent flutters through my stomach, and made me unable to speak.**

"Young love." Esme smiled brightly.

**We were in front of Charlie's house. The lights were on, my truck in its place, everything utterly normal. It was like waking from a dream. He stopped the car, but I didn't move.**

**"Do you _promise_ to be there tomorrow?"**

"Good idea, to make him promise."

**"I promise." I considered that for a moment, then nodded. I pulled his jacket off, taking one last whiff.**

**"You can keep it - you don't have a jacket for tomorrow," he reminded me.**

"Yeah, and try to explain to her dad how she went with her friends and comes home with a boy's jacket. I think not." Snorted Alice, knowing her best friend.

**I handed it back to him. "I don't want to have to explain to Charlie."**

**"Oh, right." He grinned.**

**I hesitated, my hand on the door handle, trying to prolong the moment.**

"I really didn't want to let you go."

"Me neither."

"You know it is your fault, if you hadn't broken the speed limit we would have had more time together." Edward's mouth dropped.

"I didn't think about that."

"That is clearly my dear brother." Emmett smirked, happy that someone was able to outsmart him.

**"Bella?" he asked in a different tone - serious, but hesitant.**

**"Yes?" I turned back to him too eagerly.**

**"Will you promise me something?"**

**"Yes," I said, and instantly regretted my unconditional agreement. What if he asked me to stay away from him? I couldn't keep that promise.**

**"Don't go into the woods alone."**

"One, that is a strange thing to ask, two, Peter and Charlotte wouldn't have hurt her" grumbled Jasper.

"Peter and Charlotte?" Asked Bella.

"Two friends I traveled with before I met Alice."

**I stared at him in blank confusion. "Why?"**

**He frowned, and his eyes were tight as he stared past me out the window.**

**"I'm not always the most dangerous thing out there. Let's leave it at that."**

"That is true."

**I shuddered slightly at the sudden bleakness in his voice, but I was relieved. This, at least, was an easy promise to honor. "Whatever you say."**

**"I'll see you tomorrow," he sighed, and I knew he wanted me to leave now.**

**"Tomorrow, then." I opened the door unwillingly.**

**"Bella?" I turned and he was leaning toward me, his pale, glorious face just inches from mine. My heart stopped beating.**

**"Sleep well," he said. His breath blew in my face, stunning me. It was the same exquisite scent that clung to his jacket, but in a more concentrated form. I blinked, thoroughly dazed. He leaned away.**

"Stupid, dazzling, sparkling vampire." Bella whispered and Jasper snorted.

**I was unable to move until my brain had somewhat unscrambled itself. Then I stepped out of the car awkwardly, having to use the frame for support. I thought I heard him chuckle, but the sound was too quiet for me to be certain.**

"What, you shouldn't have been able to hear that at all."

"Not a normal human here. The rules don't apply to me."

**He waited till I had stumbled to the front door, and then I heard his engine quietly rev. I turned to watch the silver car disappear around the corner. **

**I realized it was very cold.**

**I reached for the key mechanically, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.**

**Charlie called from the living room. "Bella?"**

**"Yeah, Dad, it's me." I walked in to see him. He was watching a baseball game.**

**"You're home early."**

**"Am I?" I was surprised.**

**"It's not even eight yet," he told me. "Did you girls have fun?"**

**"Yeah - it was lots of fun." My head was spinning as I tried to remember all the way back to the girls' night out I had planned. "They both found dresses."**

"You forgot you went with us, didn't you."

"Maybe Angela, maybe."

**"Are you all right?"**

**"I'm just tired. I did a lot of walking."**

**"Well, maybe you should go lie down." He sounded concerned. I wondered what my face looked like.**

**"I'm just going to call Jessica first."**

**"Weren't you just with her?" he asked, surprised.**

**"Yes - but I left my jacket in her car. I want to make sure she brings it tomorrow."**

"Good that you had a cover story."

**"Well, give her a chance to _get _home first."**

**"Right," I agreed.**

**I went to the kitchen and fell, exhausted, into a chair. I was really feeling dizzy now. I wondered if I was going to go into shock after all. Get a grip, I told myself.**

**The phone rang suddenly, startling me. I yanked it off the hook.**

**"Hello?" I asked breathlessly.**

**"Bella?"**

**"Hey, Jess, I was just going to call you."**

**"You made it home?" Her voice was relieved… and surprised.**

**"Yes. I left my jacket in your car - could you bring it to me tomorrow?"**

**"Sure. But tell me what happened!" she demanded.**

"I feel bad for you, really bad." Rosalie whimpered.

**"Um, tomorrow - in Trig, okay?"**

**She caught on quickly. "Oh, is your dad there?"**

**"Yes, that's right."**

**"Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow, then. Bye!" I could hear the impatience in her voice.**

**"Bye, Jess."**

"I so didn't look forward to that conversation."

**I walked up the stairs slowly, a heavy stupor clouding my mind. I went through the motions of getting ready for bed without paying any attention to what I was doing. It wasn't until I was in the shower - the water too hot, burning my skin - that I realized I was freezing. I shuddered violently for several minutes before the steaming spray could finally relax my rigid muscles. Then I stood in the shower, too tired to move, until the hot water began to run out.**

"It is almost like you went into shock as soon as Edward disappeared." Carlisle mumbled and Bella nodded thoughtfully.

**I stumbled out, wrapping myself securely in a towel, trying to hold the heat from the water in so the aching shivers wouldn't return. I dressed for bed swiftly and climbed under my quilt, curling into a ball, hugging myself to keep warm. A few small shudders trembled through me.**

**My mind still swirled dizzily, full of images I couldn't understand, and some I fought to repress. Nothing seemed clear at first, but as I fell gradually closer to unconsciousness, a few certainties became evident.**

**About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was part of him - and I didn't know how potent that part might be - that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.**

"Aww, that is so sweet." Angela cooed with a smile. "Well, maybe not all of it… but the last bit is sweet."

"You where right, Angela is like you. No on else would react that way."


	13. Interrogations

**AN: **

**alxis. belt.7 my other story is on Swedish because I live in Sweden and it is easier for me to write on Swedish, and I ****couldn't found any Swedish story where the HP characters read the books, well it was one but she stopped writing so I ****thought I would try, for a time I thought to write it on English to, but I ****don't have the time, maybe when I have finished this or that story.**

**Okay, a guest: An excellent idea, I have thought a little about that and the Volturi will defiantly show up. I just haven't decided when, but it won't be before the end of book two, want people to know who they are, of course I can change my mind, but they will ether come in in book two or later,**

**To everyone else, thank you so much for you kind comments, it makes me so happy that I nearly jump up and down, if you have a question don't hesitate to ask me.**

**I have changed beta now and my new beta is kim67255 so a lot of credit goes to her for looking over all my chapters and she will look over al chapters I have posted before so they will be easier to read **

* * *

"Can I read?"

"Of course Lauren, here." Emmett threw the book at her and she caught her breath when it hit her before she huffed and open the book while Esme scolded Emmett.

**"Interrogations"**

It was very hard, in the morning, to argue with the part of me that was sure last night was a dream. Logic wasn't on my side, or common sense. I clung to the parts I couldn't have imagined — like his smell. I was sure I could never have dreamed that up on my own.

"Didn't you say that you didn't have any imagination?" Asked Jenna.

"I don't know, I can't remember everything I have done or said in my life."

**It was foggy and dark outside my window, absolutely perfect.  
**  
"Err, I thought you hated that. Don't you love the sun?"

"That was before Mike, and if it was sunny Edward wouldn't be able to come to school, or Alice for that matter. So I prefer when it is foggy and dark."

"But didn't…"

"Don't worry, everything will be explained, I would guess in the next chapters."

**He had no reason not to be in school today. I dressed in my heavy clothes, remembering I didn't have a jacket. Further proof that my memory was real.**

"You really need proof?" Oliver Gray, a buff guy in Alice's math class asked.

"Kind of. I could have thought that it was a dream if I didn't have any proof."

**When I got downstairs, Charlie was gone again —**

"As usual." Bella whispered so quiet that no human or vampire could hear her.

**I was running later than I'd realized. I swallowed a granola bar in three bites, chased it down with milk straight from the carton, and then hurried out the door. Hopefully the rain would hold off until I could find Jessica.**

"Hard to believe, it rains nearly every day here." Mumbled Ben.

**It was unusually foggy; the air was almost smoky with it. The mist was ice cold where it clung to the exposed skin on my face and neck. I couldn't wait to get the heat going in my truck.**

"Hate that truck. I don't understand why my Bella wants to drive it."

"Edward it was a gift, and beside I can't afford a new car. end of discussion, I don't want to hear more of it. understood."

"You are so whipped bro." Sniggered Emmett in his head so no one would be able to yell at him.

**It was such a thick fog that I was a few feet down the driveway before I realized there was a car in it: a silver car. My heart thudded, stuttered, and then picked up again in double time.**

**I didn't see where he came from, but suddenly he was there, pulling the door open for me**

"Seriously, she told you that she knew the day before and now you use your speed not only in front of her but also on a place where everyone could have seen you. How stupid can you be." Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"Rosalie is right Edward, that wasn't very wise of you." Sighted Carlisle and Edward nodded thoughtful.

**"Do you want to ride with me today?" he asked, amused by my expression as he caught me by surprise yet again. There was uncertainty in his voice. He was really giving me a choice — I was free to refuse, and part of him hoped for that. It was a vain hope.  
**  
"How can you read me so easily?"

"Because you are easy to read even if you are mysterious. I understand you. It's like how Alice and Jasper can read each other so easily or Rose and Emmett, or Carlisle and Esme. I don't know why but it just is that way.""  
**  
"Yes, thank you," I said, trying to keep my voice calm. As I stepped into the warm car, I noticed his tan jacket was slung over the headrest of the passenger seat. The door closed behind me, and, sooner than should be possible, he was sitting next to me, starting the car.**

"I brought the jacket for you. I didn't want you to get sick or something." His voice was guarded.

"Aw, that is so sweet. That is the kind of boyfriend every girl wishes for." Giggled Angela and snuggled up to Ben who kissed the top of her head.

**I noticed that he wore no jacket himself, just a light gray knit V-neck shirt with long sleeves. Again, the fabric clung to his perfectly muscled chest. It was a colossal tribute to his face that it kept my eyes away from his body.**

"Well it is nice to know you can be a normal teenager." Smirked Alice and Bella hit her shoulder loosely with a laugh.

**"I'm not quite that delicate," I said, but I pulled the jacket onto my lap, pushing my arms through the too-long sleeves, curious to see if the scent could possibly be as good as I remembered. It was better.**

"Just a question, do we have to hear the rest of the book talk about how you think how hot Eddie is?" Emmett groaned when Bella nodded slowly.

**"Aren't you?" he contradicted in a voice so low I wasn't sure if he meant for me to hear.**

"How could she hear that. I talked so only vampires would be able to hear."

"Well it is probably because Bella is born to be..."

"Knock it off Alice, it won't happen." Growled Edward and glared at his sister.

"Still beating on Alice." Thought Bella who had figured out what Alice had meant to say.

**We drove through the fog-shrouded streets, always too fast, feeling awkward. I was, at least. Last night all the walls were down… almost all. I didn't know if we were still being as candid today. It left me tongue-tied. I waited for him to speak.**

**He turned to smirk at me. "What, no twenty questions today?"**

"Do my questions bother you?" I asked, relieved.

"Not as much as your reactions do." He looked like he was joking, but I couldn't be sure.

"Well I find some of Bella's reactions hilarious." Smirked Emmett and Rosalie shook her head.  
"Happy I can be of service to you."

**I frowned. "Do I react badly?"**

**"No, that's the problem. You take everything so coolly — it's unnatural. It makes me wonder what you're really thinking."**

"And I finally get to know."

"Unfortunately."

**"I always tell you what I'm really thinking."**

**"You edit," he accused.**

**"Not very much."**

**"Enough to drive me insane."**

"You know darling, I love that Edward can't read your mind, it can be a good lesson for him to stay out from our minds."

"Trust me, all you have to do I sing the most annoying song you can think of and he will stay out." Informed Bella then and Edward groaned.

"Thanks a lot Bella. They will kill me with songs now."

"No problem." Bella blushed lightly wile the siblings smirked.

"So Belles-boo, when can we play T or D, I really want to play with you."

"When all of this is over Em."

**"You don't want to hear it," I mumbled, almost whispered. As soon as the words were out, I regretted them. The pain in my voice was very faint; I could only hope he hadn't noticed it.**

"I did." he sighted and hugged Bella tightly.

**He didn't respond, and I wondered if I had ruined the mood. His face was unreadable as we drove into the school parking lot. Something occurred to me belatedly.**

**"Where's the rest of your family?" I asked — more than glad to be alone with him, but remembering that his car was usually full.**

"Thanks for remembering us."

**"They took Rosalie's car." He shrugged as he parked next to a glossy red convertible with the top up.**

**"Ostentatious, isn't it?"**

**"Um, wow," I breathed. "If she has that, why does she ride with you?"**

**"Like I said, it's ostentatious. We try to blend in."**

"Can I drive it now? I mean everyone heard already now and I really want to drive my baby. Please dad." Rosalie begged and put on her puppy eyes.

"Yes Rose, you can drive your car. But please, don't drive it to fast." Carlisle smiled at her but winked with his eye and she got the message.

"You're the best dad and don't worry. I won't get caught."

**"You don't succeed." I laughed and shook my head as we got out of the car. I wasn't late anymore; his lunatic driving had gotten me to school in plenty of time. **

**"So why did Rosalie drive today if it's more conspicuous?"**

"Because I take every chance I get to drive her."

**"Hadn't you noticed? I'm breaking all the rules now." **

**He met me at the front of the car, staying very close to my side as we walked onto campus. I wanted to close that little distance, to reach out and touch him, but I was afraid he wouldn't like me to.**

"At that point, probably not."

**"Why do you have cars like that at all?" I wondered aloud. "If you're looking for privacy?"**

**"An indulgence," he admitted with an impish smile. "We all like to drive fast."**

"Understatement." sighted Bella-

"Who drives the fastest?" Asked Eric and the Cullen's looked at each other.

"Depends on the situation, but Esme is the one who drives slowest." Answered Carlisle after a few seconds.

"Which is like 20 mph over the speed limit and that is the slowest she drives." Mumbled Bella and the Cullen's grinned sheepishly while everyone's mouths drops open.

"How come you don't get tickets?"

"Because they hear if anyone comes close to them and then only drives like that when humans can't see them... well Carlisle and Esme at least." Bella smirked at her boyfriend and his siblings.

**"Figures," I muttered under my breath.**

**Under the shelter of the cafeteria roof's overhang, Jessica was waiting, her eyes about to bug out of their sockets. Over her arm, bless her, was my jacket**

**"Hey, Jessica," I said when we were a few feet away. "Thanks for remembering." She handed me my jacket without speaking.**

**"Good morning, Jessica," Edward said politely. It wasn't really his fault that his voice was so irresistible. Or what his eyes were capable of.**

**"Er… hi." She shifted her wide eyes to me, trying to gather her jumbled thoughts. "I guess I'll see you in Trig." She gave me a meaningful look, and I suppressed a sigh. What on earth was I going to tell her?**

"I wonder what would have happened if you had told her the truth."

"Nothing good." mumbled Rosalie, she detested that girl.

**"Yeah, I'll see you then."**

**She walked away, pausing twice to peek back over her shoulder at us.**

**"What are you going to tell her?" Edward murmured.**

**"Hey, I thought you couldn't read my mind!" I hissed.  
**  
"I was terrified, I like that he can't read my mind and I started to think that he just fooled me by lying about that he can read my mind."

**"I can't," he said, startled. Then understanding brightened his eyes. **

**"However, I can read hers — she'll be waiting to ambush you in class."**

"Worst class that week."

**I groaned as I pulled off his jacket and handed it to him, replacing it with my own. He folded it over his arm.**

**"So what are you going to tell her?"**

**"A little help?" I pleaded. "What does she want to know?"**

**He shook his head, grinning wickedly. "That's not fair."**

**"No, you not sharing what you know — now that's not fair."**

"You always have a comeback. I love it, Edward won't be able to have any secrets." Cackled Jasper.

**He deliberated for a moment as we walked. We stopped outside the door to my first class.**

**"She wants to know if we're secretly dating. And she wants to know how you feel about me," he finally said.**

**"Yikes. What should I say?" I tried to keep my expression very innocent. People were passing us on their way to class, probably staring, but I was barely aware of them.**

**"Hmmm." He paused to catch a stray lock of hair that was escaping the twist on my neck and wound it back into place. My heart spluttered hyperactively. "I suppose you could say yes to the first… if you don't mind — it's easier than any other explanation."  
**  
"You suck at asking her to be your girlfriend you know." Snorted Ben and Edward smiled sheepishly.

**"I don't mind," I said in a faint voice.**

**"And as for her other question… well, I'll be listening to hear the answer to that one myself."**

**One side of his mouth pulled up into my favorite uneven smile. I couldn't catch my breath soon enough to respond to that remark. He turned and walked away.**

**"I'll see you at lunch," he called over his shoulder. Three people walking in the door stopped to stare at me.**

**I hurried into class, flushed and irritated. He was such a cheater. **

"You don't say. It is impossible to play any games with him, he always wins."

"Why don't you teach me some games and let me play against him?" Smirked Bella and all Cullen's except Edward's eyes lighted up.

"We will teach you this weekend. You can sleep over from Friday to Monday and we can watch movies and play a lot of games." Squeaked Alice and jumped up and down while clapping her hands. "Charlie will say yes, oh I can't wait."

A lot of people where now wondering how she could now what the police chief's answer would be and how Bella could dare to sleep over in a house with vampires.

**Now I was even more worried about what I was going to say to Jessica. I sat in my usual seat, slamming my bag down in aggravation.**

**"Morning, Bella," Mike said from the seat next to me. I looked up to see an odd, almost resigned look on his face. "How was Port Angeles?"**

**"It was…" There was no honest way to sum it up. "Great," I finished lamely.**

"Well it was in a way, because if that didn't happen I wouldn't have had Edward ask me to be his boyfriend and I wouldn't have gotten my answers."

**"Jessica got a really cute dress."**

**"Did she say anything about Monday night?" he asked, his eyes brightening. I smiled at the turn the conversation had taken.**

**"She said she had a really good time," I assured him.**

**"She did?" he said eagerly.**

**"Most definitely."**

"Thank god he didn't ask me out again."

**Mr. Mason called the class to order then, asking us to turn in our papers. English and then Government passed in a blur, while I worried about how to explain things to Jessica and agonized over whether Edward would really be listening to what I said through the medium of Jess's thoughts. **

**How very inconvenient his little talent could be — when it wasn't saving my life.**

"Glad you agree with us to." Sighted Rosalie.

**The fog had almost dissolved by the end of the second hour, but the day was still dark with low, oppressing clouds. I smiled up at the sky.  
Edward was right, of course. When I walked into Trig Jessica was sitting in the back row, nearly bouncing off her seat in agitation. I reluctantly went to sit by her, trying to convince myself it would be better to get it over with as soon as possible.**

**"Tell me everything!" she commanded before I was in the seat.**

**"What do you want to know?" I hedged.**

**"What happened last night?"**

**"He bought me dinner, and then he drove me home."**

"Good answer."

**She glared at me, her expression stiff with skepticism. "How did you get home so fast?"**

**"He drives like a maniac. It was terrifying." I hoped he heard that.**

"I did, I started to laugh out loud."

"So that was why you laughed." Sighted his teacher and Edward gave a short nod while his family chuckled.

**"Was it like a date — did you tell him to meet you there?"**

**I hadn't thought of that. "No — I was very surprised to see him there."**

"And happy, I really don't want to think about what would have happened if Edward wasn't there." Whispered Bella and Rosalie looked at her sadly.

She knew exactly what would have happened and wasn't sure if Bella would have manage to survive the memories. Edward growled at her when he heard which direction her thoughts went about Bella.

**Her lips puckered in disappointment at the transparent honesty in my voice.**

**"But he picked you up for school today?" she probed.**

**"Yes — that was a surprise, too. He noticed I didn't have a jacket last night," I explained.**

**"So are you going out again?"**

**"He offered to drive me to Seattle Saturday because he thinks my truck isn't up to it — does that count?"**

"Of course it does, have you never been on a date before, or a friend who went on a date?" Asked Angela with a smile.

"No, Edward is the only one who has taken me out on a date and Renee was kind of my only friend in Phoenix. I mean I did talk to some students but I was just this weird girl who didn't belong there. My place is here."

**"Yes." She nodded. "W-o-w." She exaggerated the word into three syllables. "Edward Cullen."**

**"I know," I agreed. "Wow" didn't even cover it.**

**"Wait!" Her hands flew up, palms toward me like she was stopping traffic. "Has he kissed you?"**

**"No," I mumbled. "It's not like that." She looked disappointed. I'm sure I did, too.**

"Wait, you heard that didn't you and that is why. Of course I should have realized."

"Okay, what is she talking about Edward?"

"I'm not sure Jasper, I think I know but I'm not completely sure."

**"Do you think Saturday… ?" She raised her eyebrows.**

**"I really doubt it." The discontent in my voice was poorly disguised.**

**"What did you talk about?" She pushed for more information in a whisper. Class had started but Mr. Varner wasn't paying close attention and we weren't the only ones still talking.**

"That is the best with Varner, he doesn't notice that only half of the class pay attention." Laughed Emmett

**"I don't know, Jess, lots of stuff," I whispered back. "We talked about the English essay a little." A very, very little. I think he mentioned it in passing.**

**"Please, Bella," she begged. "Give me some details."**

**"Well… okay, I've got one. You should have seen the waitress flirting with him — it was over the top. But he didn't pay any attention to her at all." Let him make what he could of that.**

The Cullen's begun to laugh at that. "Trust Bella to think that." Sniggered Alice.

**"That's a good sign," she nodded. "Was she pretty?"**

**"Very — and probably nineteen or twenty."**

**"Even better. He must like you."**

**"I think so, but it's hard to tell. He's always so cryptic," I threw in for his benefit, sighing.  
**  
"That doesn't even cover it." Mumbled Jasper

**"I don't know how you're brave enough to be alone with him," she breathed.**

**"Why?" I was shocked, but she didn't understand my reaction.**

**"He's so… intimidating. I wouldn't know what to say to him." She made a face, probably remembering this morning or last night, when he'd turned the overwhelming force of his eyes on her.**

**"I do have some trouble with incoherency when I'm around him," I admitted.**

**"Oh well. He is unbelievably gorgeous." Jessica shrugged as if this excused any flaws. Which, in her book, it probably did.**

**"There's a lot more to him than that."**

**"Really? Like what?"**

**I wished I had let it go. Almost as much as I was hoping he'd been kidding about listening in.**

**"I can't explain it right… but he's even more unbelievable behind the face." The vampire who wanted to be good — who ran around saving people's lives so he wouldn't be a monster…  
**  
"Wait you said that out loud?"

"No, the sentence end after behind the face. The rest is just her thoughts." Answered Lauren with a flirty smile.

**I stared toward the front of the room.**

**"Is that possible?" She giggled. I ignored her, trying to look like I was paying attention to Mr. Varner.**

**"So you like him, then?" She wasn't about to give up.**

**"Yes," I said curtly.**

**"I mean, do you really like him?" she urged.**

**"Yes," I said again, blushing. I hoped that detail wouldn't register in her thoughts.**

**She'd had enough with the single syllable answers. "How much do you like him?"**

**"Too much," I whispered back. "More than he likes me. But I don't see how I can help that." I sighed, one blush blending into the next.  
Then, thankfully, Mr. Varner called on Jessica for an answer.  
She didn't get a chance to start on the subject again during class, and as soon as the bell rang, I took evasive action.**

**"In English, Mike asked me if you said anything about Monday night," I told her.**

"Smart girl, distract her with that. I'm so proud." Alice said with a straight smile before she and Bella begun to giggle hysterically.

**"You're kidding! What did you say?" she gasped, completely sidetracked.**

**"I told him you said you had a lot of fun — he looked pleased."**

**"Tell me exactly what he said, and your exact answer!"**

**We spent the rest of the walk dissecting sentence structures and most of Spanish on a minute description of Mike's facial expressions. I wouldn't have helped draw it out for as long as I did if I wasn't worried about the subject returning to me.**

**And then the bell rang for lunch. As I jumped up out of my seat, shoving my books roughly in my bag, my uplifted expression must have tipped Jessica off.**

**"You're not sitting with us today, are you?" she guessed.**

**"I don't think so." I couldn't be sure that he wouldn't disappear inconveniently again.**

**But outside the door to our Spanish class, leaning against the wall — looking more like a Greek god than anyone had a right to — Edward was waiting for me. Jessica took one look, rolled her eyes, and departed.**

"A Greek god, seriously?" Bella only blushed and hided her face while many laughed.

**"See you later, Bella." Her voice was thick with implications. I might have to turn off the ringer on the phone.**

**"Hello." His voice was amused and irritated at the same time. He had been listening, it was obvious.**

**"Hi."**

**I couldn't think of anything else to say, and he didn't speak — biding his time, I presumed — so it was a quiet walk to the cafeteria. Walking with Edward through the crowded lunchtime rush was a lot like my first day here; everyone stared.**

**He led the way into the line, still not speaking, though his eyes returned to my face every few seconds, their expression speculative. It seemed to me that irritation was winning out over amusement as the dominant emotion in his face. I fidgeted nervously with the zipper on my jacket.  
He stepped up to the counter and filled a tray with food.**

**"What are you doing?" I objected. "You're not getting all that for me?"**

**He shook his head, stepping forward to buy the food.**

**"Half is for me, of course." I raised one eyebrow.**

"You know, you could have just taken a little. I mean it could have been this day when you aren't hungry and just take an apple or something like that." Said Angela and Bella sniggered at the Cullen's face, apparently none of them thought about that.

**He led the way to the same place we'd sat that one time before. From the other end of the long table, a group of seniors gazed at us in amazement as we sat across from each other. Edward seemed oblivious.**

**"Take whatever you want," he said, pushing the tray toward me.**

**"I'm curious," I said as I picked up an apple, turning it around in my hands, "what would you do if someone dared you to eat food?"**

**"You're always curious." He grimaced, shaking his head.**

**He glared at me, holding my eyes as he lifted the slice of pizza off the tray, and deliberately bit off a mouthful, chewed quickly, and then swallowed. I watched, eyes wide.**

"You did it. So not fair, we had to argue with you for an hour before you eat it and you did it even when you didn't need to just because Bella asked what you would do."

"Excuse me, but why did you argue with Edward about that?" Asked Carlisle mildly, he had a guess.

"Oh crap... you know that accident that happened a year ago? Well, we played a nice game of T or D." Alice smiled nervously.

"Why can't they just respect that they aren't allowed to play that game? You would think they would understand, considering their ages." mumbled Esme.

**"If someone dared you to eat dirt, you could, couldn't you?" he asked condescendingly.**

**I wrinkled my nose. "I did once… on a dare," I admitted. "It wasn't so bad."**

"IT wasn't so bad?"

"Well it wasn't good but not disgusting, it was possible to eat."

**He laughed. "I suppose I'm not surprised." Something over my shoulder seemed to catch his attention.**

**"Jessica's analyzing everything I do — she'll break it down for you later." He pushed the rest of the pizza toward me. The mention of Jessica brought a hint of his former irritation back to his features.**

**I put down the apple and took a bite of the pizza, looking away, knowing he was about to start.**

**"So the waitress was pretty, was she?" he asked casually.**

**"You really didn't notice?"**

**"No. I wasn't paying attention. I had a lot on my mind."**

**"Poor girl." I could afford to be generous now.**

The girls in the room snorted, it was like that for every girl.

**"Something you said to Jessica… well, it bothers me." He refused to be distracted. His voice was husky, and he glanced up from under his lashes with troubled eyes.**

**"I'm not surprised you heard something you didn't like. You know what they say about eavesdroppers," I reminded him.**

Emmett smiled widely.

**"I warned you I would be listening." **

**"And I warned you that you didn't want to know everything I was thinking."**

"Edward wont ever win an argument with Bella, she is to smart and sneaky."

**"You did," he agreed, but his voice was still rough. "You aren't precisely right, though. I do want to know what you're thinking — everything. I just wish… that you wouldn't be thinking some things."  
I scowled. "That's quite a distinction."**

**"But that's not really the point at the moment."**

**"Then what is?" We were inclined toward each other across the table now. He had his large white hands folded under his chin; I leaned forward, my right hand cupped around my neck. I had to remind myself that we were in a crowded lunchroom, with probably many curious eyes on us. It was too easy to get wrapped up in our own private, tense little bubble.**

**"Do you truly believe that you care more for me than I do for you?" he murmured, leaning closer to me as he spoke, his dark golden eyes piercing.**

**I tried to remember how to exhale. I had to look away before it came back to me.**

**"You're doing it again," I muttered.**

**His eyes opened wide with surprise. "What?"**

**"Dazzling me," I admitted, trying to concentrate as I looked back at him.**

"Hate when he does it. It's my weakness and he knows it and uses it to win arguments."

**"Oh." He frowned.**

**"It's not your fault," I sighed. "You can't help it."**

**"Are you going to answer the question?"  
I looked down. "Yes."**

**"Yes, you are going to answer, or yes, you really think that?" He was irritated again.**

"What do you think, use your brain." Alice rolled her eyes.

**"Yes, I really think that." I kept my eyes down on the table, my eyes tracing the pattern of the faux wood grains printed on the laminate. The silence dragged on. I stubbornly refused to be the first to break it this time, fighting hard against the temptation to peek at his expression.  
Finally he spoke, voice velvet soft. "You're wrong."**

Jasper shook his head unnoticeably. "Bella really do you love Edward more then he loves her but he can't see it." he was careful to not let Edward hear him.

**I glanced up to see that his eyes were gentle.**

**"You can't know that," I disagreed in a whisper. I shook my head in doubt, though my heart throbbed at his words and I wanted so badly to believe them.**

**"What makes you think so?" His liquid topaz eyes were penetrating — trying futilely, I assumed, to lift the truth straight from my mind.  
I stared back, struggling to think clearly in spite of his face, to find some way to explain. As I searched for the words, I could see him getting impatient; frustrated by my silence, he started to scowl. I lifted my hand from my neck, and held up one finger.**

**"Let me think," I insisted. His expression cleared, now that he was satisfied that I was planning to answer.**

**I dropped my hand to the table, moving my left hand so that my palms were pressed together. I stared at my hands, twisting and untwisting my fingers, as I finally spoke.**

**"Well, aside from the obvious, sometimes…" I hesitated. "I can't be sure — I don't know how to read minds — but sometimes it seems like you're trying to say goodbye when you're saying something else."**

"So I'm not the only one who has noticed that." Rosalie shook her head.

**That was the best I could sum up the sensation of anguish that his words triggered in me at times.**

**"Perceptive," he whispered. And there was the anguish again, surfacing as he confirmed my fear. "That's exactly why you're wrong, though," he began to explain, but then his eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, 'the **

**obvious'?"**

**"Well, look at me," I said, unnecessarily as he was already staring. "I'm absolutely ordinary — well, except for bad things like all the near death experiences and being so clumsy that I'm almost disabled. **

"No Bella, you are not ordinary. You are beautiful, smart, selfless, generous and brave amongst other things." To Edward's surprise it was Rose that spoke up and Bella smiled gratefully at her.

**"And look at you." I waved my hand toward him and all his bewildering perfection.**

**His brow creased angrily for a moment, then smoothed as his eyes took on a knowing look. "You don't see yourself very clearly, you know. I'll admit you're dead-on about the bad things," he chuckled blackly, "but you didn't hear what every human male in this school was thinking on your first day.  
**  
"Oh damn, I'm glad I didn't have any thoughts about her." Ben said

"No, only abut Angela." Edward smirked and Ben and Angela blushed.

"You brat, why did you say that in front of the whole school." Bella hit him loosely over the head.

I** blinked, astonished. "I don't believe it…" I mumbled to myself.**

**"Trust me just this once — you are the opposite of ordinary."**

**My embarrassment was much stronger than my pleasure at the look that came into his eyes when he said this. I quickly reminded him of my original argument.**

**"But I'm not saying goodbye," I pointed out.**

**"Don't you see? That's what proves me right. I care the most, because if I can do it" — he shook his head, seeming to struggle with the thought — "if leaving is the right thing to do, then I'll hurt myself to keep from hurting you, to keep you safe."**

**I glared. "And you don't think I would do the same?"**

**"You'd never have to make the choice."**

"Well I had to a few months ago and that was for Renee, I would do much more for you."

"Don't say that." Edward hissed and glared at her. Bella nodded but she knew that it was the truth, she would walk through hell for Edward.

**Abruptly, his unpredictable mood shifted again; a mischievous, devastating smile rearranged his features.**

**"Of course, keeping you safe is beginning to feel like a full-time occupation that requires my constant presence."**

**"No one has tried to do away with me today," I reminded him, grateful for the lighter subject.**

**I didn't want him to talk about goodbyes anymore. If I had to, I supposed I could purposefully put myself in danger to keep him close… I banished that thought before his quick eyes read it on my face. That idea would definitely get me in trouble.**

**"Yet," he added.**

**"Yet," I agreed; I would have argued, but now I wanted him to be expecting disasters.**

**"I have another question for you." His face was still casual.**

**"Shoot."**

**"Do you really need to go to Seattle this Saturday, or was that just an excuse to get out of saying no to all your admirers?"**

**I made a face at the memory. "You know, I haven't forgiven you for the Tyler thing yet," I warned him. "It's your fault that he's deluded himself into thinking I'm going to prom with him."**

"You where still mad about that?" Laughed Angela.

"Oh, I'm still a little mad about it."

**"Oh, he would have found a chance to ask you without me — I just really wanted to watch your face," he chuckled, I would have been angrier if his laughter wasn't so fascinating. **

**"If I'd asked you, would you have turned me down?" he asked, still laughing to himself.**

**"Probably not," I admitted. "But I would have canceled later — faked an illness or a sprained ankle."**

"Well, you could have fallen and really sprained your ankle."  
"Shut it Ali. it's not my fault."

"Ali?"

"My nickname for you of course. Alice is Ali, Rosalie is Rose as you know, Jasper Jazz, Emmett Em and apparently so is Edward Eddie."

"Thanks a lot Emmett, I will never lose that nickname now."

**He was puzzled. "Why would you do that?"**

**I shook my head sadly. "You've never seen me in Gym, I guess, but I would have thought you would understand."**

**"Are you referring to the fact that you can't walk across a flat, stable surface without finding something to trip over?"**

**"Obviously."**

**"That wouldn't be a problem." He was very confident. "It's all in the leading." **

"He was right, it was wonderful to dance with Edward." Bella kissed his jaw and snuggled in to his side.

**He could see that I was about to protest, and he cut me off. "But you never told me — are you resolved on going to Seattle, or do you mind if we do something different?"**

**As long as the "we" part was in, I didn't care about anything else.**

**"I'm open to alternatives," I allowed. "But I do have a favor to ask."  
He looked wary, as he always did when I asked an open-ended question. **

**"What?"**

**"Can I drive?"**

"I still find it funny that she is more afraid of our driving habits then about the fact that we are vampires."

"Just laugh Jazz, but Charlie is a cop you know. I was raised to not break the law."

**He frowned. "Why?"**

**"Well, mostly because when I told Charlie I was going to Seattle, he specifically asked if I was going alone and, at the time, I was. If he asked again, I probably wouldn't lie, but I don't think he will ask again, and leaving my truck at home would just bring up the subject unnecessarily. And also, because your driving frightens me."**

**He rolled his eyes. "Of all the things about me that could frighten you, you worry about my driving." He shook his head in disgust, but then his eyes were serious again. "Won't you want to tell your father that you're spending the day with me?" There was an undercurrent to his question that I didn't understand.**

**"With Charlie, less is always more." I was definite about that. "Where are we going, anyway?"**

**"The weather will be nice, so I'll be staying out of the public eye… and you can stay with me, if you'd like to." Again, he was leaving the choice up to me.**

**"And you'll show me what you meant, about the sun?" I asked, excited by the idea of unraveling another of the unknowns.**

**"Yes." He smiled, and then paused. "But if you don't want to be… alone with me, I'd still rather you didn't go to Seattle by yourself. I shudder to think of the trouble you could find in a city that size."**

**I was miffed. "Phoenix is three times bigger than Seattle — just in population. In physical size —"**

**"But apparently," he interrupted me, "your number wasn't up in Phoenix. So I'd rather you stayed near me." His eyes did that unfair smoldering thing again.**

"Edward is right, I wonder if this city is cursed."

"Bella, it's my fault most of it..."

"Be quiet, I would have been dead if you weren't a vampire so don't go blaming yourself, so the city must be cursed."

"It can be you Bella, you know. After all you have the record in vising your doctor."

"Not my fault the ground hates me Edward, at least Carlisle understands that."

"It is always nice to talk to you." Carlisle smiled over at Bella.

**I couldn't argue, with the eyes or the motivation, and it was a moot point anyway. "As it happens, I don't mind being alone with you."**

**"I know," he sighed, brooding. "You should tell Charlie, though."**

**"Why in the world would I do that?"**

**His eyes were suddenly fierce. "To give me some small incentive to bring you back."**

**I gulped. But, after a moment of thought, I was sure. "I think I'll take my chances."**

"I thought he would explode because of what you said."  
"He has to little faith in what he can do and what he can't do... you also have that Jazz. You are both stronger than you think, you just need to trust yourself."

"Thank you Bella. have you any idea how it is to have your brother and mate not believe in them self."

"I feel for you. don't worry about it thought Ali, we will make them believe in themselves."

"God luck. our family has tried since I joined the family." Snorted Rosalie

**He exhaled angrily, and looked away.**

**"Let's talk about something else," I suggested.**

**"What do you want to talk about?" he asked. He was still annoyed.**

**I glanced around us, making sure we were well out of anyone's hearing. As I cast my eyes around the room, I caught the eyes of his sister, Alice, staring at me.**

**The others were looking at Edward.**

**I looked away swiftly, back to him, and I. asked the first thing that came to mind.**

**"Why did you go to that Goat Rocks place last weekend… to hunt? Charlie said it wasn't a good place to hike, because of bears."  
He stared at me as if I was missing something very obvious.  
**  
"Woa, you hunt bears?" Asked Angela with big eyes, sure she understood they needed to feed and was gratefull the choose to live on animals but she didn't thought they hunted bears.

"Yeah, it is really fun. Especially when they try to wrestle with you." Emmett smiled.  
"Trust Emmett to play with his food. Poor bear, it wont have a chance." Bella shook her head in mock sadness while the Cullen's snorted.

**"Bears?" I gasped, and he smirked. "You know, bears are not in season," I added sternly, to hide my shock.**

"I had to kick Emmett so he wouldn't start laughing out loud." Rosalie smiled.

"Don't give us that crap. You nearly started to laugh at that too." Edward smirked at his sister.

"I couldn't believe you discussed that in the cafeteria. But I loved your comeback."

**"If you read carefully, the laws only cover hunting with weapons," he informed me. He watched my face with enjoyment as that slowly sank in.**

**"Bears?" I repeated with difficulty.**

**"Grizzly is Emmett's favorite." His voice was still offhand, but his eyes were scrutinizing my reaction. I tried to pull myself together.**

**"Hmmm," I said, taking another bite of pizza as an excuse to look down. I chewed slowly, and then took a long drink of Coke without looking up.**

**"So," I said after a moment, finally meeting his now-anxious gaze. **

**"What's your favorite?"**

**He raised an eyebrow and the corners of his mouth turned down in disapproval. "Mountain lion."**

**"Ah," I said in a politely disinterested tone, looking for my soda again.**

"I would probably freak out."

"You don't freak out now." Rosalie raised an eyebrow at Angela who blushed a little.

"Well, Bella explained some things for me, she didn't have anyone to explain for her."

"True." Bella nodded her head.

**"Of course," he said, and his tone mirrored mine, "we have to be careful not to impact the environment with injudicious hunting. We try to focus on areas with an overpopulation of predators — ranging as far away as we need. **

**There's always plenty of deer and elk here, and they'll do, but where's the fun in that?" He smiled teasingly.**

**"Where indeed," I murmured around another bite of pizza.**

**"Early spring is Emmett's favorite bear season — they're just coming out of hibernation, so they're more irritable." He smiled at some remembered joke.**

**"Nothing more fun than an irritated grizzly bear," I agreed, nodding.  
**  
"I knew there was a reason that I like you." Emmett said ruffling Bella's hair and she laughed.

**He snickered, shaking his head. "Tell me what you're really thinking, please."**

"And once again she surprised me."

**"I'm trying to picture it — but I can't," I admitted. "How do you hunt a bear without weapons?"**

**"Oh, we have weapons." He flashed his bright teeth in a brief, threatening smile. I fought back a shiver before it could expose me.**

**"Just not the kind they consider when writing hunting laws. If you've ever seen a bear attack on television, you should be able to visualize Emmett hunting."**

Nearly everyone's eyes widened at that and they watched Emmett fearfully.

**I couldn't stop the next shiver that flashed down my spine. I peeked across the cafeteria toward Emmett, grateful that he wasn't looking my way. The thick bands of muscle that wrapped his arms and torso were somehow even more menacing now.**

**Edward followed my gaze and chuckled. I stared at him, unnerved.**

**"Are you like a bear, too?" I asked in a low voice.**

**"More like the lion, or so they tell me," he said lightly. "Perhaps our preferences are indicative."**

**I tried to smile. "Perhaps," I repeated. But my mind was filled with opposing images that I couldn't merge together. ****"Is that something I might get to see?"**

The Cullen's blinked surprised before they begun to chuckle.

"Only you would ask that Bella. You are crazy." Alice snorted

"Well I didn't know anything. I mean I still want to see but I would never do it now because I know it is dangerous."

**"Absolutely not!" His face turned even whiter than usual, and his eyes were suddenly furious. I leaned back, stunned and — though I'd never admit it to him — frightened by his reaction. He leaned back as well, folding his arms across his chest.  
**  
"You could have said that more nicely, she was just curious of how it looked, she didn't know what probably would happen if she was there." Sighted Carlisle.

**"Too scary for me?" I asked when I could control my voice again.**

**"If that were it, I would take you out tonight," he said, his voice cutting. **

**"You need a healthy dose of fear. Nothing could be more beneficial for you."**

"Nice to know that you want to scare her."

"Never will happen." Bella singsonged.

**"Then why?" I pressed, trying to ignore his angry expression.**

**He glared at me for a long minute.**

**"Later," he finally said. He was on his feet in one lithe movement. **

**"We're going to be late."**

**I glanced around, startled to see that he was right and the cafeteria was nearly vacant. When I was with him, the time and the place were such a muddled blur that I completely lost track of both. I jumped up, grabbing my bag from the back of my chair.**

**"Later, then," I agreed. I wouldn't forget.**

"Of course you wouldn't." Edward smiled and kissed her temple.

"Well that is it. The chapter is done." Lauren and closed the book with a huff.

* * *

That's it, I don't know when newt chapter will be out, but I do know that I will have a little more time to write now because this is the last week in school, thankfully


	14. Please don't be mad

Well, hi... this will probably make some of you disappointed or even mad, but I have decided to stop writing on this story, no not forever I will finish this and probably write down all four books and maybe even a sequel on what happens after but I have decided that I want to finish the first book in my HP story that is on Swedish before I continue this story

no I wont take that much time, I have about three chapters left before I'm finish and it will take maybe two months if I continue at this rate, and I have started a little on the next chapter, I find this chapter hard to write but anyway, don't expect chapter anytime soon. I don't want to make you mad or anything but my other story is my baby and I really want to finish it as soon as I can, I hope you can understand this and I will see all of you in September, have a nice summer

sorry again for this but as I said, my other story is the story that comes first in my heart even if this story is more popular

lealover1


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